Account for the following: The experimentally determined N-F bond length in NF3 is greater than the sum of the single covalent radii of N and F.

Question

Account for the following: The experimentally determined N-F bond length in NF3 is greater than the sum of the single covalent radii of N and F.

Accepted Answer

This is because both N and F are small and hence have high-electron density. So they repel the bond pairs thereby making the N-F bond length larger.

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