Given below are two statements :
Statement I : C₂H₅OH and AgCN both can generate nucleophile.
Statement II : KCN and AgCN both will generate nitrile nucleophile with all reaction conditions.
Choose the most appropriate option :

Solution

Chemistry ma’am · 3 steps

Both give a nucleophile, but cyanide is ambident: which end attacks depends on the reagent.

1. Statement I. C₂H₅OH has lone pairs on oxygen, so it can attack as a neutral nucleophile, or lose H⁺ to give C₂H₅O⁻. AgCN supplies the cyanide group as a nucleophile. Both generate a nucleophile, so Statement I is true.
2. Ambident cyanide. Cyanide, ⁻C≡N, can attack through carbon or through nitrogen. Attack through C gives a nitrile, R-CN. Attack through N gives an isocyanide, R-NC.

   Reagent	Nature of bonding	Attacking atom	Main product with R-X
   KCN	ionic, free CN⁻	C	nitrile, R-CN
   AgCN	mainly covalent, Ag-C bond	N (C is tied up with Ag)	isocyanide, R-NC

3. So. AgCN gives mainly isocyanide, not nitrile, so it does not give the nitrile product under all conditions. Statement II is false, and the answer is (d).

The idea to keep. For ambident nucleophiles, look at the bonding. In ionic KCN the carbon end attacks and gives nitrile. In covalent AgCN the carbon is held by Ag, so nitrogen attacks and gives isocyanide.

Answer from the NTA final answer key. Solution by PrepWiser.