The Surprising Crystal Packing of Chlorinefluoride

Abstract

Infinite ribbons with only very short intermolecular ClCl contacts, and not dipole–dipole interactions, characterize the crystal packing of ClF (depicted on the right). The explanation for this surprising finding is that chlorine in ClF may act simultaneously as an electron donor and acceptor, as shown by the experimental Laplacian charge density maps and ab initio calculations for the CIF dimer.