Ab initio study of the molecular geometry and properties of nitrosyl fluoride

Abstract

Ab initia SCF MO calculations employing a basis set of multi-component Gaussian orbitals are carried out for the FNO molecule at various internuclear angles and FN bond separations. The resulting total energy at the experimental FNO geometry is estimated to be in the range of 0.15 to 0.25 hartrees above the Hartree-Fock limit; the calculations find an internuclear equilibrium angle which is 1.1‡ higher than the experimental value (110‡) and a FN bond distance which is 0.02 bohrs greater than that found experimentally (2.872 bohrs). The molecular charge density contours indicate that nitrosyl fluoride can be considered quite concisely as a loosely bound combination of a fluorine atom and an NO radical. Finally, a model is constructed on the basis of the SCF calculations which is capable of explaining rather anamolous features of the FNO molecular geometry and properties in a consistent manner.