Binary Fluorine-Nitrogen Compounds

The systematic names of the binary fluorine-nitrogen compounds are only used for a few substances, whereas the organic substitutional type of nomenclature is widely used. Thus, NF3 is called by its systematic name nitrogen trifluoride (and not trifluoroamine), but N2F4 is generally named tetrafluorohydrazine instead of dinitrogen tetrafluoride and N3F fluorine azide instead of trinitrogen fluoride. Subsequently, there are sometimes up to three names for... 

The present volume, Fluorine Suppl. Vol. 4, covers the oxygen compounds of fluorine and the binary fluorine-nitrogen compounds. 

The second part Fluorine and Nitrogen deals with the binary fluorine-nitrogen compounds. They are subdivided on the basis of the number of nitrogen atoms per molecule. Thus, species such as NFJ, NF3, NF2, and NF are considered first followed by the dinitrogen and trinitrogen fluorides N2F4, N2F2, and N3F and related ions. 

Given the Lewis symbols for nitrogen and fluorine in Table 8.1, predict the formula of the stable binary compoimd (a compound composed of two elements) formed when nitrogen reacts with fluorine and draw its Lewis structure. 

Solve Nitrogen must share a pair of electrons with three fluorine atoms to complete its octet. Thus, the binary compound these two elements form must be NF3 ... 

This order places the nonmetals and metalloids approximately in order of increasing nonmetalhc character. Thus, in the formula, the first element is the more metallic and the second element is the more nonmetallic, similar to the situation with binary ionic compounds. For example, the compound whose molecule contains three fluorine atoms and one nitrogen atom is written NF3, not F3N. 

---