Ionization energies

 

If a small amount of energy is supplied to an atom, then an electron may be promoted to a higher energy .level, but if the amount of. energy supplied is sufficiently large the electron may be completely removed. The energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron from an isolated gaseous atom is called the ionization energy. Ionization energies are determined from spectra and are measured in kJ mo1- 1

• It is possible to remove more than one electron from most atoms. The first ionization energy is the energy required to remove the first electron and convert M to M+; the second ionization energy is the energy required to remove the second election arid convert M+ to M2+; the third ionization energy converts M2+ to M3+, and so on. The factors that influence the ionization energy are: 

1. The size of the atom. 

2. The charge on the nucleus. 

3. How effectively the inner electron shells screen the nuclear charge. 

4. The type of electron involved (s. p, d or f). 

These factors ate usually interrelated. In a small atom the electrons are tightly held. whilst in a larger atom the electrons are less strongly held. Thus the ionization energy decreases as the size of the atoms increases.













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