Nitrogen monofluoride

Nitrogen monofluoride (fluoroimidogen) is a metastable species that has been observed in laser studies. It is isoelectronic with O₂. Like boron monofluoride, it has unusual higher than single-bonded fluorine. It is unstable with respect to its formal dimer, dinitrogen difluoride, as well as to its elements, nitrogen and fluorine. Nitrogen monofluoride can be formed by the decomposition of fluorine azide into N₂F₂ and N₂. It is also produced when various radical species (H, O, N, CH₃) react with nitrogen difluoride (NF₂) to abstract one fluorine atom. Many of the reactions give the product in an excited state that has a characteristic chemiluminescence, and have thus been investigated for development as a chemical laser. The reactions are highly efficient and the product has a long lifetime. The reaction with molecular hydrogen (H₂) involves a chain propagation via regeneration of the atomic hydrogen radical that can perpetuate for many cycles. An alternative azide process involves the reactino of atomic fluorine with hydrazoic acid to give an azide radical, which then reacts with another atomic fluorine to produce NF with N₂ as a byproduct. This route avoids the necessity of using atomic hydrogen, a chemical that could otherwise cause the decomposition of NF.