Nitryl fluoride

Preparation

Thermodynamic properties

• The equilibrium of the unimolecular decomposition of FNO₂ lies on the side of the reactants by at least six orders of magnitude at 500 kelvin, and two orders of magnitude at 1000 kelvin.
• The homogeneous thermal decomposition cannot be studied at temperatures below 1200 kelvin.
• The equilibrium shifts towards the reactants with increasing temperature.
• The dissociation energy of 46.0 kcal of the N-F bond in nitryl fluoride is about 18 kcal less than the normal N-F single bond energy. This can be attributed to the “reorganization energy” of the NO₂ radical; that is, the NO₂ radical in FNO₂ is less stable than the free NO₂ molecule. Qualitatively speaking, the odd electron “used up” in the N-F bond forms a resonating three-electron bond in free NO₂, thus stabilizing the molecule with a gain of 18 kcal.

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