According to molecular orbital theory, which of the following diatomic ions is predicted to have a bond order of zero and therefore does not exist?

Step-by-step solution

The total number of electrons in C ₂²⁻ is 12 + 2 = 14 . Bond order = 1 2 (10 - 4) = 3 . The total number of electrons in N ₂²⁻ is 14 + 2 = 16 . Bond order = 1 2 (10 - 6) = 2 . The total number of electrons in O ₂²⁻ is 16 + 2 = 18 . Bond order = 1 2 (10 - 8) = 1 . The total number of electrons in F ₂²⁻ is 18 + 2 = 20 . The molecular orbital configuration is _ 1s ² ^ * _ 1s ² _ 2s ² ^ * _ 2s ² _ 2p_z ² _ 2p_x ² _ 2p_y ² ^ * _ 2p_x ² ^ * _ 2p_y ² ^ * _ 2p_z ² . Number of bonding electrons N_b = 10 and antibonding elec