What are ambident nucleophiles ? Explain with an example.
The nucleophiles which has two different electron donor atoms and can attack through two different sites are called ambident nucleophiles.
For example : Cyanide ion (CN−) has two resonating structures :
:C≡N:↔:C=..N:
So, it can attack through carbon to form cyanides and through N to form isocyanides or carbylamines.