Question

In addition to NF3, two other fluoro derivatives of nitrogen are known: N2F4 and N2F2.a. What shapes should these two molecules have around each nitrogen atom?b. What is the hybridization for the nitrogen atoms in each molecule?

Answer 1

N2F2 is trigonal planar with sp2 hybridization

N2F4 is tetrahedral with sp3 hybridization

Step-by-step explanation:

In N2F4 the hybridisation of the nitrogen atom is sp3, because Nitrogen has four regions of electron density pointing in four directions in space: twice N-F; one N-N and one free electron pair. Hence, the implication of this is that the F-N-F angle is approximately 109°. This is the tetrahedral bond angle.

In N2F2, each nitrogen has 4 electron pairs. Now, because two of these electron pairs are in a double bond,then each nitrogen atom could be treated as having a set of 3 electron pairs. Thus there are two possible configurations: trigonal pyramidal and trigonal planar. Trigonal planar arrangement is preferred because the repulsions between the other nitrogen and the adjacent fluorine are too high in the trigonal pyramidal structure.