Fundamental aspects of recoupled pair bonds. II. Recoupled pair bond dyads in carbon and sulfur difluoride
Formation of a bond between a second ligand and a molecule with a recoupled pair bond results in a recoupled pair bond dyad. We examine the recoupled pair bond dyads in the a{sup 3}B{sub 1} states of CF{sub 2} and SF{sub 2}, which are formed by the addition of a fluorine atom to the a{sup 4}Σ{sup −} states of CF and SF, both of which possess recoupled pair bonds. The two dyads are very different. In SF{sub 2}, the second FS–F bond is very strong (D{sub e} = 106.3 kcal/mol), the bond length is much shorter than that in the SF(a{sup 4}Σ{sup −}) state (1.666 Å versus 1.882 Å), and the three atoms are nearly collinear (θ{sub e} = 162.7°) with only a small barrier to linearity (0.4 kcal/mol). In CF{sub 2}, the second FC–F bond is also very strong (D{sub e} = 149.5 kcal/mol), but the bond is only slightly shorter than that in the CF(a{sup 4}Σ{sup −}) state (1.314 Å versus 1.327 Å), and the molecule is strongly bent (θ{sub e} = 119.0°) with an 80.5 kcal/mol barrier to linearity. The a{sup 3}B{sub 1} states of CF{sub 2} and SF{sub 2} illustrate the fundamental differences between recoupled pair bond dyads formed from 2s and 3p lone pairs.