Chemical Bonding: NO₂F Lewis Structure

Drawing the Lewis Structure for NO₂F

Viewing Notes:

• There are a total of 24 valence electrons in the NO₂F Lewis structure.
• Nitrogen (N) is the least electronegative atom and goes at the center of the NO₂F Lewis structure.
• With NO₂F you'll need to form a double bond between one of the Oxygen atoms and a Nitrogen atom to fill the octets and still use only the 24 valence electrons available for the molecule.

Transcript: This is the NO2F Lewis structure. For the NO2F Lewis structure, we have a total of 24 valence electrons. Nitrogen is the least electronegative, we'll put that at the center, put the Oxygens on the outside, and the Fluorine as well. We'll put a pair of electrons between atoms to form chemical bonds, and then we'll go around the outside until we use 24 valence electrons. So we have 6, 8, 10, and 24.

So we've used the 24 valence electrons. All the atoms have octets except the Nitrogen in the center: it only has 6 valence electrons. To give an octet to the Nitrogen, let's take 2 valence electrons from the Oxygen, since it's less electronegative than the Fluorine and is more likely to give them up, and form a double bond. So now in our Lewis structure for NO2F, we have an octet on the Oxygen, still, but the Nitrogen, now it has 8 valence electrons so its outer shell is full. So we've used all 24 valence electrons.

Each of the atoms has an octet, so we're done. That's the Lewis structure for NO2F. This is Dr. B., and thanks for watching.