We report on the first measurement of the F2 structure function of the neutron from the semi-inclusive scattering of electrons from deuterium, with low-momentum protons detected in the backward hemisphere. Restricting the momentum of the spectator protons to ≲ 100 MeV/c and their angles to ≳ 100° relative to the momentum transfer allows an interpretation of the process in terms of scattering from nearly on-shell neutrons. The Fn2 data collected cover the nucleon-resonance and deep-inelastic regions over a wide range of Bjorken x for 0.65 \u3c Q2 2, with uncertainties from nuclear corrections estimated to be less than a few percent. These measurements provide the first determination of the neutron to proton structure function ratio Fn2 / Fp2 at 0.2 ≲ x ≲0.8 with little uncertainty due to nuclear effects
