Question

What is the first ionization energy of a nonmetal?

Answer 1

Ionization potential:

• Ionization potential is the amount of energy needed to eject the final valence electron from an atom's outermost shell in its isolated gaseous state.
• The first ionization energy is the amount of energy necessary to eject the first electron from the outermost shell.
• The second ionisation energy is the amount of energy necessary to remove the second electron.

The trend in the modern periodic table:

• If we move from top to bottom in a group, ionization potential decreases. This happens because as we move from top to bottom in a group, atomic size increases, and the effective nuclear charge on last valence electrons decreases, which results in a lesser energy requirement to eject it.
• And as we move across a period from left to right, atomic size decreases, resulting in a greater nuclear force experienced by the last valence electron, which in turn results on increases in Ionization potential.

Non-metals:

• Nonmetals are materials that like accepting electrons.
• Because nonmetals have a smaller atomic radius, valence electrons encounter stronger nuclear attraction, making ejection more difficult.
• As a result, the initial ionization energy for non-metals will be quite high.