The molecular geometry of NOCl (nitrosyl chloride), where nitrogen is the central atom, is trigonal planar.
This can be understood by looking at the arrangement of the atoms around the nitrogen. Nitrogen (N), in this molecule, is bonded to one oxygen (O) atom and one chlorine (Cl) atom, and it has a lone pair of electrons. To determine the molecular geometry, we use the VSEPR (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion) theory, which allows us to predict the shape of the molecule based on the repulsion between the electron pairs in the valence shell of the central atom.
In NOCl, nitrogen has three regions of electron density: two single bonds (to Cl and O) and one lone pair. According to VSEPR theory, these three regions of electron density will arrange themselves to minimize repulsion, resulting in a trigonal planar geometry. The molecular shape specifically reflects the positions of the atoms, ignoring the lone pairs, which defines a bent shape if we considered the lone pair, but the electron geometry remains trigonal planar due to those three regions.