Electronegatvity question

if you are talking about ions, then F is because it has the smallest Z (effective) charge. Could you address which ones were actually molecular, or ionic..etc?

 

electronegativity increases accross and decreases down hence flourine is the most electronegative element.

thats what i recall

 

I can recall that if size is not an issue then F has the highest eletronegativity. On the other hand if size is brought up then you have to look at the stability which mean which element can "hang on longer" then I think that would be I. I am not quite sure on this, so if anyone out there can correct me do so.

 

I think it's that while F has the highest electronegativity, it does not produce the strongest bonds, because it's small and doesn't polarize well.

-RA

 

One way to really think about electronegativity is to remember that it is an average of ionization energy and electron affinity of the element. So, elements that have both high ionization energy and electron affinity will have high electronegativity. Now, if you look at the periodic table trends, ionization energies are the highest for fluorine because it is the smallest in size (hard to take away stuff from really small elements because of nuclear forces). Its electron affinity is also high, so gaining electrons is favorable.
Therefore even if one considers size, flourine should be the most electronegative and the strength of the bonds really depends on the electronegativity of both atoms involved (not just Fluorine). HOpe this helps. I've been studying for the April MCAT

 

F