On the Magnetic Susceptibility of Fluorine

The isotropic magnetic susceptibility, χiso, for F2 has been measured experimentally for the first time and found to be (−9.627 ± 0.062) × 10-6 (cgs). The value was measured on a paramagnetic gas analyzer (PGA) configured to be compatible with the aggressive F2. The PGA was shown to respond linearly with χiso and was calibrated using the response from several pure gases and their literature χiso values. The major source of error in the analysis is the inaccuracy of the literature χiso values. The experimental result for F2 was compared to ab initio calculations using both Hartree−Fock (HF) theory and gradient-corrected density functional theory (DFT) theory with a variety of basis sets. DFT calculations were found to converge to a value much closer to the experimental value compared to HF calculations, underlining the importance of the many-electron correlation effect in F2.