Which one of the following molecules shows an increase in bond order after loss of an electron from the highest occupied molecular orbital?

Step-by-step solution

Bond order is given by 1 2 (N_b - N_a) . If an electron is removed from an antibonding molecular orbital, N_a decreases, resulting in an increase in bond order. If it is removed from a bonding molecular orbital, N_b decreases, resulting in a decrease in bond order. The molecular orbital electronic configurations are: F ₂ (18 electrons): _ 1s ² _ 1s ^ *2 _ 2s ² _ 2s ^ *2 _ 2p_z ² _ 2p_x ² _ 2p_y ² _ 2p_x ^ *2 _ 2p_y ^ *2 The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) is _ 2p ^ * , which is antibonding. Loss of an ele