Abstract
IN their work on the electronic structure of the N2O4 molecule, in which the N—N bond was found to be a π-only bond, Coulson and Duchesne1 were led to consider the structure of a single NO2 molecule. This can be represented using in particular two nitrogen lone-pair electrons, three π-electrons associated with the whole O—N—O framework and four σ-electrons. The aim of this communication is to see to what extent this picture may be used as a basis for the study of NO2F in terms of molecular orbitals. In this molecule, contrary to what occurs in N2O4, N2O3 and N2O2, we should expect a normal σ-bond for NF. Such a bond should be obtained by promoting one of the lone-pair electrons to the π-orbital labelled Q by Coulson and Duchesne1. This gives rise to a total of four π-electrons, distributed in the P and Q molecular orbitals, whereas the remaining lone-pair σ-electron is coupled with the 2p z electron of fluorine.
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Duchesne, J., Mém. Acad. Roy. Belg., 28, 1 (1955).
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Kent Wilson, M., and Polo, S. R., J. Chem. Phys., 20, 1716 (1952).
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BURNELLE, L., DUCHESNE, J. Molecular Orbitals and Vibrational Potential Function of Nitryl Fluoride. Nature 182, 653 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/182653a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/182653a0
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