Lewis structure of NOF

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The Lewis structure of NOF contains one double bond and one single bond, with nitrogen in the center, and oxygen and fluorine on either side. The oxygen atom has two lone pairs, the nitrogen atom has one lone pair, and the fluorine atom has three lone pairs.

Steps

By using the following steps, you can easily draw the Lewis structure of NOF.

#1 Draw skeleton
#2 Show chemical bond
#3 Mark lone pairs
#4 Complete octet on central atom
#5 Calculate formal charge and check stability

Let’s one by one discuss each step in detail.

#1 Draw skeleton

In this step, first calculate the total number of valence electrons. And then, decide the central atom.

• Let’s calculate the total number of valence electrons

We know that… nitrogen is a group 15 element, oxygen is a group 16 element, and fluorine is a group 17 element. Hence, nitrogen has five valence electrons, oxygen has six valence electrons, and fluorine has seven valence electrons.

Now NOF has one nitrogen atom, one oxygen atom, and one fluorine atom.

So the total number of valence electrons = valence electrons of nitrogen atom + valence electrons of oxygen atom + valence electrons of fluorine atom

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons = 5 + 6 + 7 = 18

• Now decide the central atom

The atom with the least electronegative value is placed at the center. By looking at the periodic table, we get the electronegativity values for nitrogen, oxygen, and fluorine as follows:

Electronegativity value of nitrogen = 3.04
Electronegativity value of oxygen = 3.44
Electronegativity value of fluorine = 3.98

Obviously, nitrogen is less electronegative than oxygen and fluorine. Hence, assume that nitrogen is the central atom.

So now, put nitrogen in the center and oxygen and fluorine on either side. And draw the rough skeleton structure for the Lewis structure of NOF something like this:

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of HCOOH (5 steps)

#2 Show chemical bond

Place two electrons between the atoms to show a chemical bond. Since nitrogen is surrounded by oxygen and fluorine, use four electrons to show two chemical bonds as follows:

#3 Mark lone pairs

As calculated earlier, we have a total of 18 valence electrons. And in the above structure, we have already used four valence electrons. Hence, fourteen valence electrons are remaining.

Two valence electrons represent one lone pair. So fourteen valence electrons = seven lone pairs.

Note that all (nitrogen, oxygen, and fluorine) are the period 2 elements, so they can not keep more than 8 electrons in their last shell.

Also, make sure that you start marking these lone pairs on outside atoms first. And then, on the central atom.

The outside atoms are oxygen and fluorine, so oxygen and fluorine will get three lone pairs. And the central atom (nitrogen) will get one lone pair.

So the Lewis structure of NOF looks something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the octet is completed on outside atoms. But, the central atom (nitrogen) doesn’t form an octet.

So in the next step, we have to complete the octet on the central atom.

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of H₂CO₃ (5 steps)

#4 Complete octet on central atom

Remember that nitrogen is a period 2 element, so it can not keep more than 8 electrons in its last shell.

Now nitrogen already has six valence electrons. Hence, nitrogen needs two more valence electrons to complete its octet.

So convert one lone pair from the oxygen atom to make a new bond with the nitrogen atom. And then, the Lewis structure of NOF looks something like this:

Here, the lone pair of oxygen is converted (instead of fluorine). This is because oxygen is less electronegative than fluorine, and so it can give more electrons to share them.

In the above structure, you can see that the octet is completed on the central atom (nitrogen), and also on the outside atoms. Therefore, the octet rule is satisfied.

After completing the octet, one last thing we need to do is, calculate the formal charge and check the stability of the above structure.

Also read: How to draw Lewis structure of CH₃OCH₃ (4 steps)

#5 Calculate formal charge and check stability

The following formula is used to calculate the formal charges on atoms:

Formal charge = valence electrons – nonbonding electrons – ½ bonding electrons

Collect the data from the above structure and then, write it down below as follows:

• For nitrogen atom

Valence electrons = 5
Nonbonding electrons = 2
Bonding electrons = 6

Formal charge = 5 – 2 – ½ (6) = 0

• For oxygen atom

Valence electrons = 6
Nonbonding electrons = 4
Bonding electrons = 4

Formal charge = 6 – 4 – ½ (4) = 0

• For chlorine atom

Valence electrons = 7
Nonbonding electrons = 6
Bonding electrons = 2

Formal charge = 7 – 6 – ½ (2) = 0

Mention the formal charges of atoms on the structure. So the Lewis structure of NOF looks something like this:

In the above structure, you can see that the formal charges of all atoms are zero. Therefore, this is the stable Lewis structure of NOF.

And each horizontal line drawn in the above structure represents a pair of bonding valence electrons.

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Related

• Lewis structure of HCOOH
• Lewis structure of H₂CO₃
• Lewis structure of CH₃OCH₃
• Lewis structure of PBr₃
• Lewis structure of CH₃Br

External video

• NOF Lewis Structure – How to Draw the Lewis Structure for NOF – Wayne Breslyn

External links

• Chemical Bonding: NOF Lewis Structure – The Geoexchange
• NOF Lewis Structure, Geometry, Hybridization, and Polarity – Techiescientist
• NOF Lewis Structure in 6 Steps (With Images) – Pediabay
• Draw the main Lewis structure of NOF – Chegg
• Draw the Lewis dot structure for NOF – Homework.Study.com
• NOF Lewis structure, molecular geometry, bond angles, resonance – Topblogtenz
• 3.33 Lewis Structure for NOF – Laurence Lavelle
• Draw the main lewis structure of nof. draw nonbonding electrons using the dot notation and bonding electrons as a bond – Brainly
• Show the best Lewis dot structure for NOF (nitrosyl fluoride). Note that N here is the central atom – Pearson
• Write a reasonable Lewis structure for NOF – Numerade