HEC-HS115 – Foundation
Chemistry
Chapter 4 : FACTORS AFFECTING
ELECTRONEGATIVITY
Part : Two
Mr, Tumusiime George
Copyright 2023 ©, ISBAT University, All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives of today’s Session
By the end of this chapter one part 2, a learner should
be able to:
State the factors that affect electronegativity and
describe the factors that stated above.
Define electron affinity and ionization energy and
1st,2ndionisation energies
Describe electron affinity along group VII elements
Describe the factors that affect (i) electron affinity (ii)
ionization energies
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CONT.
3
Describe and explain the trend of electron affinity across
the period of the periodic table
Describe and explain the trend of electron affinity along
the group of the periodic table
Describe and explain the trend of ionization energy
across the period of the periodic table
Describe and explain the trend of ionization energy
along the group of the periodic table
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FACTORS AFFECTING
ELECTRONEGATIVITY
4
1. Size of an Atom:
A greater atomic size will result in less value of
electronegativity, this happens because electrons being far
away from the nucleus will experience a lesser force of
attraction.
2. Nuclear Charge:
A greater value of nuclear charge will result in a greater
value of electronegativity. This happens because an increase
in nuclear charge causes electron attraction with greater
force.
3. Effect of Substituent:
The electronegativity of an atom depends upon the nature
of the substituent attached to that atom. For example, the
carbon atom in CF3I acquires a greater positive charge than
CH3I. Therefore, C-atom in CF3I is more electronegative than
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in CH3I. The difference in electronegativity of an atom caused
Electron affinity
5
Electron affinity is defined as the amount of energy
released when an electron is added to a neutral atom to
form an anion.
OR
The electron affinity is the potential energy change of
the atom when an electron is added to a neutral
gaseous atom to form a negative ion.
So, the more negative the electron affinity the more
favourable the electron addition process is.
Not all elements form stable negative ions in which case
the electron affinity is zero or even positive.
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Periodic trends of the electron
affinity
6
Electron affinity increases going left to right across a
period because of increased nuclear attraction. Going
down the group the electron affinity should
decrease since the electron is being added increasingly
further away from the nucleus. Electron becomes less
tightly bound and can be easily removed.
In a period, as we move from left to right the atomic size
decreases due to the increase in the nuclear force
hence the electron gain enthalpy increases. Whereas
while moving down a group in the periodic table, the
atomic size increases thereby causing a decrease in the
value of electron gain enthalpy
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Cont.
7
The first electron affinity is always exothermic that is
negative.
The second electron affinity of the same element will be
positive or endothermic.
This is so because the second electron has to be forced
to enter the mono negative ion.
The electron affinity cannot be determined directly but is
obtained indirectly from the Born-Haber cycle.
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Factors affecting Electron Affinity
8
Atomic size: If the atomic size is small, then there will be
greater electron gain enthalpy because the effective
nuclear forces will be greater in the smaller atoms and
the electrons will be held firmly.
Nuclear charge: The greater the nuclear charge, more
will be the value of electron gain enthalpy because
increase in nuclear change increase nuclear force on
valence electrons.
In general electron affinity follows the following trends:
Halogens > Oxygen family > Carbon family > Nitrogen
family > Metals of group 1 and 13 > Metals of group 2
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Electron affinity of halogens
9
Ionization potential is the energy required to remove an electron
from a gaseous atom.
Energy is supplied for removing an electron implies that energy will
be released if an extra electron is added to the atom.
The amount of energy released when a neutral atom in its gaseous
state accepts an electron and gets converted into a negatively
charged ion is known as electron affinity
Here X is any element in the gaseous state and E.A. is the electron
affinity.
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Cont.
10
The unit of electron affinity is electron volts per atom or kilojoule per
mole. It is represented by a negative sign [-] for example,
Therefore, the electron affinity of chlorine is – 349
KJ/mol. Energy is released when the first electron
is added to an atom and monovalent anion is
formed and this is known as the first electron
affinity.
Now if we add another electron to this anion, a
force of repulsion is experienced by the electron
and energy is absorbed.
Therefore, the second electron affinity and
further
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UNIVERSITY – 2023 are positive in nature 12/31/2025
Ionization energy
11
Ionization energy or Ionization enthalpy of elements is
defined as the amount of energy required by an isolated
gaseous atom to lose an electron in its ground state.
The first ionization energy of element A is defined as the
energy required by an atom to form A+ ions. The unit of
ionization energy is given as KJ mol-1.
A (g) → A+ (g) + e–
In the same way, second ionization energy is described
as the energy needed to remove the second electron from
its valence shell. It can be explained by the equation given
below:
A+ (g) → A2+ (g) + e–
Whenever an electron is removed from an atom, a specific
amount of energy is required to remove it, hence the
ionization enthalpies of chemical elements are always
positive.
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Cont.
12
The second most outer electron will be more attracted
by the nucleus than the first outer electron.
Therefore, the second ionization energy will be greater
than the first ionization energy.
In the same way, the third ionization enthalpy will be
greater than the second one.
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Factors affecting ionization energy
13
Ionization energy depends on two factors:
The force of attraction between electrons and the
nucleus.
The force of repulsion between electrons.
The effective nuclear charge felt by the outermost
electrons will be less than the actual nuclear charge.
This is because the inner electrons will shield the
outermost electrons by hindering the path of nuclear
charge.
This effect is known as the shielding effect.
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Cont.
14
For example, In Na, the 3s1 electrons will be shielded by
its core electrons (1s2, 2s2 and 2p6).
Generally, the shielding effect is more prominent when
the inner orbitals are filled.
Ionization energy trend in the periodic table
General periodic trends:
In a group, while moving from top to bottom it
decreases.
Across the period, the ionization energy increases from
left to right.
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Trends in ionization enthalpy in a group:
15
The first ionization enthalpy of elements decreases as
we move down in a group.
While moving down in a group, the atomic number
increases, and the number of shells also increases.
Outermost electrons are far away from the nucleus and
thus can be removed easily.
The second factor that decreases the ionization energy
is the shielding effect due to an increasing number of
shells as we move down a group.
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Trends in ionization enthalpy across a
period:
16
As we move from left to right across a period, the
ionization energy of elements increases.
This is due to the decrease in the size of atoms across a
period.
The valence electrons get closer to the nucleus of an
atom as we move from left to right due to increased
nuclear charge.
The force of attraction between the nucleus and the
electrons increases and
Hence more energy is required to remove an electron
from the valence shell.
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Sample questions
17
1. What is meant by the terms Electronegativity;Electron
affinity and Ionisation energy.
2. State the factors that affect electronegativity and
describe the factors that stated above.
3. Differentiate 1st and ,2nd ionisation energies
4. Describe electron affinity along group VII elements
5. Describe the factors that affect
6. electron affinity
7. ionization energies
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Cont.
18
1. Describe and explain the trend of electron affinity
across the period of the periodic table
2. Describe and explain the trend of electron affinity along
the group of the periodic table
3. Describe and explain the trend of ionization energy
across the period of the periodic table
4. Describe and explain the trend of ionization energy
along the group of the periodic table
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References for further reading and research work
19
1. Brockington, J. et al, (2009). Chemistry for Matriculation 5 th edition,
Hong Kong: Longman group (FE).
2. Freeman, M. (1995). Chemistry in action. 2nd edition Macmillan
press limited.
3. Gilmore, G.N., (1987). Advanced modern approach to
comprehensive chemistry. 3rd Edition Great Britain, Stanley
Thornes limited.
4. Heys, H.L. (1986) Physical Chemistry. 6th edition, Oxford Heiman
Educational books.
5. Holderness, A., (1979): Advanced level inorganic chemistry,3rd
edition oxford Heinzman Educational books.
6. Ramsden E.N., (1994). A Level Chemistry.3RD Edith London:
Stanley Thornes limited.
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Thank you
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