Ambient reactivity of the thiocyanate anion revisited: Can the product ratio be explained by the hard soft acid base principle?

The selectivities of the reactions of carbocations with the thiocyanate ion cannot be explained by the hard soft acid base principle, which are derived from absolute rate constants. The data determined in this investigation are the first, which refer to activation-controlled attack of carbocations at both termini of the thiocyanate ion.