Cyanosilylidyne was identified in spectra recorded toward IRC+10216 by
M. Guélin, S. Muller, J. Cernicharo, A. J. Apponi, M. C. McCarthy, C. A. Gottlieb, and P. Thaddeus,
Astronomical detection of the free radical SiCN
Astron. Astrophys. 363, L9–L12 (2000).

According to ab initio calcultions, the isocyanosilylidyne isomer has a thermodynamic stability very similar to that of SiCN, but a slightly smaller dipole moment. Therefore, its reported detection was only a matter of time:
M. Guélin, S. Muller, J. Cernicharo, M. C. McCarthy, and P. Thaddeus,
Detection of the SiNC Radical in IRC+10216
Astron. Astrophys. 426, L49–L52 (2004).

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Contributor(s): H. S. P. Müller; 11, 2004

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