Question

Account for the following:

OF₂ should be called oxygen difluoride and not fluorine oxide.

Answer 1

1. OF₂ is called oxygen difluoride because fluorine is more electronegative than oxygen.
2. The more electronegative element is named last in the compound; here, fluorine is more electronegative, so fluoride is used.
3. Hence, oxygen is named first, followed by fluorine, forming oxygen difluoride.
4. If the compound were called fluorine oxide, it would wrongly suggest oxygen is more electronegative.
5. This naming rule applies generally; for example, halogen oxides are named based on oxygen being less electronegative than halogens like Cl, Br, and I.

This is why OF₂ is named oxygen difluoride, not fluorine oxide.