FLUORINE BONDS, ARE THEY HALOGEN BONDS

There are some evidences that show when fluorine is bondedto a strong electron withdrawing group, it can interact with an electron donor species and form a weak noncovalent bond.Because there is a positive σ-hole on the outermost portion of the fluorine surface, these interactions are usually classified as halogen bonds. However, our calculations based on the electron density analysis, interacting quantum atom (IQA) and natural energy decomposition analysis (NEDA) approaches reveal that there are some fundamental differences between traditional halogen bands and fluorine interactions.