Oxidation of the cyanide ion produces the stable cyanate ion, . the fulminate ion, , on the other hand, is very unstable. in fact, fulminate salts explode when struck; mercury(ii) fulminate, , is used in blasting caps. draw the lewis structures and assign formal charges for the cyanate ion and the fulminate ion. ( is the central atom in and is the central atom in .) include all resonance structures for each ion, and assign non-zero formal charges next to each atom.