Editing Nitrene (section)

==Electron configuration==
In the simplest case, the linear N–H molecule (imidogen) has its nitrogen atom [[sp hybrid orbital|sp hybridized]], with two of its four non-bonded electrons as a [[lone pair]] in an sp orbital and the other two occupying a [[degenerate orbital|degenerate]] pair of [[p orbitals]]. The [[electron configuration]] is consistent with [[Hund's rule]]: the low energy form is a [[triplet state|triplet]] with one electron in each of the p orbitals and the high energy form is the [[singlet state|singlet]] with an electron pair filling one p orbital and the other p orbital vacant.<ref>{{Citation |last=Vyas |first=Shubham |title=Theory and Computation in the Study of Nitrenes and their Excited-State Photoprecursors |date=2013 |work=Nitrenes and Nitrenium Ions |pages=33–76 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118560907.ch2 |access-date=2024-12-20 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781118560907.ch2 |isbn=978-1-118-56090-7 |last2=Winter |first2=Arthur H. |last3=Hadad |first3=Christopher M.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

As with carbenes, a strong correlation exists between the [[spin density]] on the nitrogen atom which can be calculated [[in silico]] and the [[zero-field splitting parameter]] ''D'' which can be derived experimentally from [[electron spin resonance]].<ref name=Kvaskoff>{{cite journal|title=Nitrenes, Diradicals, and Ylides. Ring Expansion and Ring Opening in 2-Quinazolylnitrenes|first1=David |last1=Kvaskoff |first2=Paweł |last2=Bednarek |first3=Lisa |last3=George |first4=Kerstin |last4=Waich |first5=Curt |last5=Wentrup |journal=[[J. Org. Chem.]] |date=2006 |volume=71 |issue=11 |pages=4049–4058 |doi=10.1021/jo052541i|pmid=16709043 }}</ref> Small nitrenes such as NH or CF<sub>3</sub>N have D values around 1.8&nbsp;cm<sup>−1</sup> with spin densities close to a maximum value of 2. At the lower end of the scale are molecules with low ''D'' (<&nbsp;0.4) values and spin density of 1.2 to 1.4 such as 9-anthrylnitrene and 9-phenanthrylnitrene.