What does electron affinity measure?
1 Answer
Apr 27, 2014
- Electron affinity is the amount of energy released when an electron is added to a neutral atom in the gaseous state.
In other words, when an electron is added to a neutral atom, energy will be released, but the amount will depend on several things.
- The atomic radius and effective nuclear charge being two main things. The smaller the radius, the easier it will be for the electron to add on because the pull from the protons in the nucleus will be stronger (coulombic attractions).
The distance from the nucleus that the electron will be when it is added. The formula for this is X + e− → X− + energy
To learn more about electron affinity visit: http://chemblogc.blogspot.com/2014/04/electron-first-electron-affinity-needed.html
