NaF Lewis Structure& Characteristics: 19 Complete Facts

by

Sodium fluoride is a white solid with molecular formula NaF and molar mass 41.988g/mol. Let us discuss about NaF Lewis structure and its 17 facts.

NaF or Sodium fluoride is formed when the metal sodium reacts with halogen fluorine. It is odorless substance. Its boiling point and melting point is 17040C and 9930C respectively. It is used in fluoridation process, manufacturing toothpaste, metallurgy.

NaF is used as a source of fluoride in various fields . Let us see facts of NaF Lewis structure, valence electrons, and others with all details in the following.

How to draw NaF Lewis Structure ?

Lewis structure is drawn by depicting electrons as dots and bonds as lines. Let us understand the steps in drawing NaF Lewis structure.

Count the total valence electrons

In this step total valence electrons involve in NaF is calculated. Sodium has one electron and fluorine with seven. So in total there are eight electrons.

Draw a skeletal structure

A skeletal structure of NaF is drawn by drawing the symbol of sodium, Na and fluorine, F.

Distribution of electrons

All the valence electrons of sodium and fluorine are represented there. Fluorine with seven dots and sodium with one dot.

Making bond between the atoms

Sodium shares one of its electrons to fluorine to make a bond between them. That bond is denoted as a line in between them. This is the most stable NaF Lewis Structure.

naf lewis structure
Lewis Structure of NaF

NaF Lewis Structure Resonance

Resonance is the delocalisation of electrons in the molecule. Let us study about resonance in NaF Lewis structure

NaF Lewis Structure doesn’t have any resonance structure. All the electrons involved here didn’t participate in resonance. They are completely associated with the atoms. So there is only one structure and no resonance is seen here.

NaF Lewis Structure Shape

The shape of molecule helps us to know about the arrangement of atoms, bond length. Let us study about the shape of NaF Lewis structure.

The Shape of NaF Lewis structure is cubic. The molecular shape of NaF is octahedral. In which each Na ions is surrounded with six F ions and vice versa. The standard enthalpy of formation is found to be -573.6 KJ/ mol with lattice constant 642 pm. The lattice spacing between the ions is 462 pm.

NaF Lewis structure Formal Charge

The formal charge is the charge associated with each atom in a molecule. Let us calculate the formal charge of NaF.

The formal charge of NaF Lewis structure is zero. A molecule with zero formal charge will be always stable. Hence NaF is a stable compound.

The formal charge founding equation is

  • Formal charge= Valence electrons – Lone pair of electrons – No: of bonds
  • Formal charge of sodium = 1-0-1 = 0
  • Formal charge of fluorine = 7-6-1 = 0

NaF Lewis Structure Bond Angle

The angle of the molecule can be different for different shapes. Let us see the bond angle of NaF Lewis structure.

The bond angle of NaF Lewis structure is 900. Since it has an octahedral shape it can have this angle. In an octahedron has eight faces with six atoms are arranged in the vertices of octahedron.

NaF Lewis Structure Octet Rule

Octet Rule explains that a stable atom should have eight electrons in the valence shell after bond making. Let us look whether NaF obeys octet rule.

NaF Lewis structure obeys octet rule. In NaF the electronic configuration of sodium is and fluorine is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 and 1s2 2s2 2p5 respectively. Sodium donates one of its electron to fluorine. Then fluorine with seven electrons accepts this become eight. Hence their octet is satisfied.

NaF Lewis Structure Lone Pairs

Non bonded electrons are also called as lone pair of electrons. Let us know about the lone pairs in NaF Lewis structure.

NaF Lewis structure has three lone pairs in fluorine. The sodium atom shares it’s electron to fluorine with seven electrons. Out of seven six is lone pairs. So in NaF there is six non- bonding electrons.

NaF Lewis Structure Valence Electrons

The valence electrons in an atom usually participate in bond formation. Let us look into the number of valence electrons in NaF Lewis structure.

NaF Lewis structure has eight valence electrons. Sodium has one electron and fluorine with seven. In total NaF have eight electrons. Out of which three were lone pairs.

NaF Lewis Structure Hybridization

Hybridisation is a process of overlapping of orbitals to make bonding more stable. Let us see whether NaF Lewis structure undergo hybridization.

NaF Lewis structure doesn’t have hybridization. Hybridisation is a process which belongs to covalent compound. NaF is an ionic compound so there is no chance of overlapping of orbitals to form new set of stabilised orbitals to give stable existence.

Is NaF a Solid ?

Solid is one of the form of substance. Let us see whether NaF is solid or not.
NaF is a solid substance which is white in colour. NaF is formed due to strong attraction between Na and F ions. As a result of this strong attraction they are very strong with high melting point like solids. Enormous amount of energy is needed to break the bonds between them.

Why and How NaF  is solid ?

In solids molecules are closely packed with low kinetic energy.Let us know why and how NaF is solid.

NaF is a solid because it has definite shape and volume. A substance with a distinct shape and volume is said to be solid. It is regarded as a solid substance since it possesses all the qualities of solidity.

Is NaF Soluble in Water ?

Solubility is the ability of substance to get dissolved in a solvent. It can be varied. Let us know about the solubility of NaF.

NaF is soluble in water. The solubility of NaF in water is different in different temperatures like 36.4 g/L in 0 °C, 40.4 g/L in 20 °C, 50.5 g/L in100 °C. But it is not dissolvable in ethanol, acetone and sulphur dioxide and slightly soluble in HF and ammonia.

Why and How NaF is soluble in water ?

Solubility of a substance will be different in different medium.Let us understand about the reason for the solubility of NaF in water.

NaF is a polar compound with one sodium and electronegative Fluorine atom. Water is also a polar compound. Polar compound always dissolves readily in polar compounds. So NaF can easily get dissolved in water.

Is NaF Polar or Non – polar ?

Polarity arises when there is electronegativity difference in the atoms joined. Let us see the polarity in NaF.

NaF is a polar substance. The electronegativity of sodium and fluorine is 0.93 and 3.98 respectively. The electronegativity difference is 3.05.

Why and how NaF is polar ?

Dipole moment is an indication of polarity in a bond.Let us know what the reason for the polarity of NaF is.

NaF is polar because it is an ionic compound. All the ionic compounds are polar in nature. NaF is formed by the attraction between positive Na+ and negative F–. The electronegativity difference in NaF is 3.05 which indicate it is highly polar. Also the ionic character in NaF is 81%.

Is NaF an Acid or Base ?

Acidity or basicity is found out by measuring the pH of a substance. Let us see the acidic or basic power of NaF.

NaF is a basic substance when it is dissolved in water. The sodium hydroxide formed as a result of dissolving NaF with water gives this basic power.

Why and how NaF is basic ?

Basicity is the ability to donate electrons to other electron deficient species.Let us see the reason behind the basic character of NaF.

NaF is basic because it is formed due to the reaction between a strong base NaOH and weak acid HF. It is formed as a result of neutralisation reaction. When dissolved in water the Na+ ions combines with the OH– ions in water to form NaOH. That is a strong base and hence it will acts as a base.

Is NaF an Electrolyte ?

An electrolyte can conduct current when it is dissolved in water. Let us see the electrolytic behaviour of NaF.

NaF is a strong electrolyte. It can dissociate into corresponding ions like Na+ and F– which can conduct electricity when dissolved in water.

Why and how NaF is electrolyte ?

The conductance of an electrolyte deals with the ions present in it.Let us know why NaF is electrolyte.

NaF is an electrolyte because it gets dissociated into Na+ and F– ions when dissolved in water. These ions conduct current. When current flows across them, ions can travel toward the matching electrodes. So when NaF dissolved in water get dissociated into ions and moves towards electrodes to produce current.

Is NaF a salt ?

Salt is a formed when acid reacts with base. Let us look whether NaF is salt or not.

NaF is a salt formed when sodium hydroxide reacts with hydrogen fluoride.

Why and how NaF is salt ?

Salt is a neutral substance.Let us see the reason for why NaF is salt.

NaF is a salt because it is formed when sodium hydroxide reacts with hydrogen fluoride. The Na+ ion combines with F– ions and OH– with H+ to form water. So this is a neutralization reaction and the product formed here is salt and water.

Is NaF a Strong Base?

Strong base is able to donate OH- ions completely into a solution. Let us see the basic strength of NaF.

NaF is a strong base only when dissolved in water.

Why and how NaF is strong base?

Basic substance has a pH value above 7.Let us know about the strong basicity of NaF.

NaF is basic because when dissolved in water the Na+ ions of NaF combines with OH– ions of water to form NaOH. NaOH is a strong base because it can dissociate completely in water.NaOH can also be easily oxidised and ionised. So NaF itself a salt and a strong base when dissolved in water.

Is NaF a Molecular Compound?

Molecular compound is also named as covalent compound. Let us see whether NaF is molecular or not

NaF is an ionic compound and not a molecular compound. When atoms that are merging share electrons, a molecular or covalent compound is created.

Why and how NaF is Ionic ?

The attraction between a positive and negative charge leads to the formation of ionic bond. Let us look into ionic character of  NaF.

NaF is ionic because Na atom donates its one electron to the fluorine atom. Here one atom donates and the other accepts. So one become positively charged cation Na+ and other negatively charged anion F–. They will then attract each other and form an ionic bond here.

Conclusion
NaF is an inorganic compound formed as a result of ionic bond between sodium and fluorine. It has several properties and hence used in various fields.

Also Read: