Electron affinity generally decreases going down a group and increases left to right across a period. Nonmetals tend to have the highest electron affinities.
Which group on the periodic table has the highest electron affinity?
Periodic Trends in Electron Affinity
The electron affinities of the noble gases have not been conclusively measured, so they may or may not have slightly negative values. Chlorine has the highest Eea while mercury has the lowest.
Where is electron affinity the highest?
In general, elements with the most negative electron affinities (the highest affinity for an added electron) are those with the smallest size and highest ionization energies and are located in the upper right corner of the periodic table.
What is the trend for electron affinity?
Patterns in Electron Affinity. Electron affinity increases upward for the groups and from left to right across periods of a periodic table because the electrons added to energy levels become closer to the nucleus, thus a stronger attraction between the nucleus and its electrons.
What are the exceptions to electron affinity?
In general, exceptions arise when new subshells are being filled/half-filled, or in cases where the atom is too small. In the first case, Be and Mg are interesting examples: they have a positive electron affinity (just like N, in fact) because of the energy difference between the s and p subshells.
Which element has the most negative electron affinity?
Chlorine has the most negative electron affinity. According to Wikipedia [Electron affinity] , In chemistry and atomic physics, the electron affinity of an atom or molecule is defined as the amount of energy released when an electron is added to a neutral atom or molecule in the gaseous state to form a negative ion.
Which has more negative electron affinity O or O?
Well, if you look at the definition, electron affinity is just the propensity to accept electrons. … Actually, since O− is negatively-charged, it would be more difficult to accept an electron, and significant coulombic repulsion would make the electron affinity of O− more positive than that of O (which is negative).
Why does CL have more electron affinity than F?
the electron affinity of the fluorine is less than chlorine because the size of fluorine is too small as size decreases from left to right inside period, whereas chlorine has a larger size to accommodate electrons hence electron affinity of chlorine is more than fluorine.
How do you explain electron affinity?
Electron affinity is the energy change that results from adding an electron to a gaseous atom. For example, when a fluorine atom in the gaseous state gains an electron to form F⁻(g), the associated energy change is -328 kJ/mol.
What is the other name of electron affinity?
2,12,758. Electron gain enthalpy is sometimes also referred to as Electron affinity although there is a minute difference between them. Electron gain enthalpy is defined as the amount of energy released when an electron is added to an isolated gaseous atom.
Why is energy released in electron affinity?
When electrons are added to an atom, the increased negative charge puts stress on the electrons already there, causing energy to be released. When electrons are removed from an atom, that process requires energy to pull the electron away from the nucleus. Addition of an electron releases energy from the process.
Do noble gases have a high electron affinity?
The major exception to this rule are the noble gases. They are small atoms and do follow the general trend for ionization energies. … Any electrons added to a noble gas would have to be the first electron in a new (larger) energy level. This causes the noble gases to have essentially zero electron affinity.
How does Zeff affect electron affinity?
Larger the size of an atom, larger will be the distance between the nucleus and the incoming electron. Thus, smaller will be force of attraction felt by incoming electron and hence smaller will be the value of Electron affinity.