Recap
• What is the principal quantum number?
• What are subshells? What are the 4 types?
• Definition of an orbital
• Pauli Exclusion principle?
• Spin pairing?
IONIZATION ENERGY RECAP
Objectives
• State the factors which influence the first
ionization energy of elements.
• Explain how ionization energy data provide
evidence for sub-shells.
• Derive the electronic configuration of an
element from data on successive ionization
energies
1.11 State the factors which influence
the first ionisation energy of elements
Ionization Energy (I.E)
1st Ionization Energy of an element
Energy needed to convert 1 mole of its gaseous atoms
into gaseous ions with a single positive charge
Energy required to remove each successive electron is
called the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. ionization energy
Ionization energies are positive because it requires
energy to remove an electron
Things to note about 1 I.E st
• The state symbols (g) are very essential and
must be present in all ionization energy
equations
• Ionization energies are measured in kilojoules
per mole…kJ/mol
• All elements have a 1st ionization energy
• Symbol = ∆Hi1
Classwork
Write 1st I.E equations for the following
elements:
• Mg
• Ca
• Na
Factors Influencing I.E
• The magnitude of I.E depends on how strongly the electron (to
be lost) is attracted to the nucleus
• Three MAIN factors influence the I.E (how easily the electron is
lost):
1. Atomic Radii
2. Nuclear Charge
3. Shielding (Screening by inner electrons)
4. A fourth factor is Whether the electron is paired in an orbital or on
its own
1. Atomic Radii
• Atomic radius is generally stated as being the distance
from an atom’s nucleus to the outermost orbital of
electron
• The I.E is influenced by the distance the outer electron
is from the nucleus
• As distance increases:
nuclear attraction for the outer electron decreases
ionization energy decreases
Atomic radii (cont’d)
Successive Ionization Energies of Sodium (Na)
Ionization Energy Energy (kJ) Orbital Electron Lost From
1st 496 3s
2nd 4562 2p
3rd 6912 2p
4th 9543 2p
5th 13353 2p
6th 16610 2p
7th 20114 2p
2. Nuclear Charge
• The effective nuclear charge (zeff ) of an atom is the net
positive charge felt by the valence electron
• The positive nuclear charge increases with atomic number…why?
• As Zeff increases:
attraction of the nucleus for the outer electron increases
ionization energy increases
Atomic radii and Electron shielding (screening of inner e-) can
outweigh the effect of nuclear charge
For eg. Cs has a larger nuclear charge than Na but a
lower first I.E (loses electron more readily) than Na
1st I.Ecaesium = 376 kJ/mol and 1st I.Esodium = 496 kJ/mol
3. Shielding (Screening by inner
electrons)
Electrons experience repulsion by other electrons
Outer electrons are shielded from the full attraction of the nucleus
by the repelling effect of inner electrons (screening effect)
Screening effect of electrons in lower energy levels is more
effective than electrons in higher energy levels
Electrons in same energy level have negligible screening effect on
each other
As screening effect becomes more effective, ionization energy
decreases
The more inner electrons there are, the greater the shielding effect
and the less strongly the outermost electron is held.
Shielding (Screening by inner electrons)
Which atom would have the smaller
1st I.E? Why?
1.12 Explain how ionisation energy data provide evidence for
sub-shells
1.13 Derive the electronic configuration of an element from
data on successive ionisation energies
Evidence for subshells
• The Hydrogen Emission Spectrum provided
evidence for discrete energy levels within the
atom. These energy levels are termed shells.
• How do we know that these energy levels are
further divided into subshells?
Answer: Results from ionization energy data
Successive Ionization Energies
• The energy involved in the removal of an electron successively
from an atom is called successive ionization energy.
• It relates to the next ionization energies after you have
removed the first electron (2nd, 3rd, 4th IE etc.)
• Unusually large increases in I. E occurs where all electrons in the outer
(valence) shell have been removed and are now being removed from
an inner shell
What general trend do you expect to observe for the values of
the successive I.E in an atom?
Successive I.E for Selected Elements
http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/602/616516/Chapter_06.html
Evidence of Energy levels (Shells)
Successive ionization energy increases because inner electrons are
attracted more strongly to positively charged nucleus
Evidence of Energy levels (Shells)
Successive I.Es can be used to:
identify the group the atom is in by the number of
outer (valence) shell electrons
determine the number of electron shells in the
atom
Successive I.E for Chlorine
Successive Ionization Energies – Period 3
Element 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Group
Na 496 4562 6912 9543 13353 16610 1
P 1012 1903 2912 4956 6273 22233 5
?? 738 1451 7733 10540 13630 17995 ??
?? 787 1577 3231 4356 16091 19784 ??
Evidence of Energy Levels (Shells)
Successive Ioniza-
tion Energies of Mg
5.00 Successive I.Es therefore
provide evidence for the
4.50 different energy levels
log (IE)
4.00
For example in Mg we see
3.50 that there are 3 energy
levels
3.00
2.50
11
1
9
Evidence of Sub-energy levels (Orbitals)
Ionization energy increases across a period and decreases down a group
I.E. Trends Across Period
Atomic radii decreases
Ionization energy increases
Anomalies
1st I.E. of boron is smaller than beryllium (similarly Al smaller
than Mg)
1st I.E. of oxygen is smaller than nitrogen (similarly S smaller
than P)
I.E. Anomaly ( B < Be)
Less energy is required to remove
the first electron from the 2p
orbital in B than from the 2s
orbital in Be
2p electron is slightly more distant
from the nucleus than the 2s
2p electron is partially screened
by the 2s electrons as well as the
inner electrons.
Both of these factors offset the
effect of the extra proton in boron Be 1s22s2
B 1s2 2s22p1
I.E. Anomaly ( O < N)
It requires less energy to remove
a paired electron with opposite
spin
In nitrogen, the three electrons
in the 2p orbitals have the same
spin while in oxygen the fourth
2p electron is paired in one of
the orbitals (2px)
The electron-electron repulsion
of the two electrons in the same
orbital (2px2) means that the
electron would be easier to N 1s2, 2s2, 2p3
remove, offsetting the effect of O 1s2, 2s2, 2p4
the extra proton
Evidence of Sub-energy levels (Orbitals)
1 I.Es of Period 3
st
• Why does the 1st I.E decrease on going from
Mg to Al?
Hint:
E. Configuration of Mg 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2
E. Configuration for Al 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1
• Slight Increase in atomic radius of Aluminium
due to 3p subshell
• Shielding Effect of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 electrons
• Why does the 1st I.E decrease on going from P
to S?
Hint 1:
E. Configuration of P 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p3
E. Configuration of S 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4
Hint 2:
Importance of Anomalies
Anomaly 1 – 1st I.E drops on going from Mg to Al
due to 3p subshell
Anomaly 2 – 1st I.E drops on going from P to S
due to pairing of electrons in 3p orbital
These 2 anomalies provide evidence for the
presence of sub shells within the atom
Successive Ionization Energies
These are the energies required for the removal
of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd….. electron
Equation for 2nd ionisation energy:
How would you expect the equation for the 3rd
ionization energy to look?
Data from successive ionization energies may be
used to derive the electronic configuration of an
element
Trends in Successive I.Es
• Let’s look at some of the S.I.Es for sodium
Elem 1st I.E 2nd I.E 3rd I.E 4th I.E 5th I.E 6th I.E
ent
Na 498 4560 6910 9540 13400 16600
Trends in Successive I.Es
• Sucessive ionization energies increase. This is
because as one electron is removed, the
nuclear charge increases. This results in the
remaining electrons being held more strongly
and hence more energy required to remove
them.
• There may be one or more particularly large
rises within the S.I.Es of an element. These
correspond to a change in energy level.
Let’s look at the S.I.E graph for Sodium
Analysis of graph
• The number of ionization energies tells us the
total number of electrons present in the atom
• Each major increase in ionization energy
corresponds to a change in energy level/shell
• The number of ionization energies before an
increase, tells us how many electrons are in
that particular shell.
• E.C of Sodium = 2.8.1
Deduce the E.C of Chlorine
