- Hence, fluorine (F) is the most electronegative of the elements, while francium (Fr) is the least electronegative. Oxidation Numbers. It is common to consider a single value of electronegativity to be valid for most bonding situations a given atom can be in.
- Which atom is the most electronegative: Li, Cs, P, As, or Ge?
- To list the elements order by electronegativity, click on the table headers. You can print the list of elements by hitting the print button below. The element which has the highest electronegativity value is Fluorine with 3.98 χ. And the element which has the lowest electronegativity value is Francium in 0.7 χ.
- This pull would most likely lead to a negative formal charge on the atom. However, this does not necessarily mean that the most electronegative atom ALWAYS needs to have a negative charge. If the Lewis Dot Structure can be constructed so each atom has a formal charge of zero, this is still said to be more favorable.
The electronegativity chart can be organized in the same order as the periodic table, but it can also be rearranged so that it shows the elements according to their electronegativity value. This later version may be more useful and easier to review than the periodic table itself if we are just interested in checking out the electronegativity.
List of elements ordered by electronegativity is listed in the table below with atomic number, chemical symbol and electronegativity value. To list the elements order by electronegativity, click on the table headers. You can print the list of elements by hitting the print button below.
The element which has the highest electronegativity value is Fluorine with 3.98 χ. And the element which has the lowest electronegativity value is Francium in 0.7 χ.
| Atomic Number | Chemical Symbol | Element Name | Electronegativity χ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | F | Fluorine | 3.98 |
| 8 | O | Oxygen | 3.44 |
| 17 | Cl | Chlorine | 3.16 |
| 7 | N | Nitrogen | 3.04 |
| 36 | Kr | Krypton | 3 |
| 35 | Br | Bromine | 2.96 |
| 53 | I | Iodine | 2.66 |
| 54 | Xe | Xenon | 2.6 |
| 16 | S | Sulfur | 2.58 |
| 6 | C | Carbon | 2.55 |
| 34 | Se | Selenium | 2.55 |
| 79 | Au | Gold | 2.54 |
| 74 | W | Tungsten | 2.36 |
| 82 | Pb | Lead | 2.33 |
| 78 | Pt | Platinum | 2.28 |
| 45 | Rh | Rhodium | 2.28 |
| 44 | Ru | Ruthenium | 2.2 |
| 46 | Pd | Palladium | 2.2 |
| 76 | Os | Osmium | 2.2 |
| 85 | At | Astatine | 2.2 |
| 77 | Ir | Iridium | 2.2 |
| 1 | H | Hydrogen | 2.2 |
| 15 | P | Phosphorus | 2.19 |
| 33 | As | Arsenic | 2.18 |
| 42 | Mo | Molybdenum | 2.16 |
| 52 | Te | Tellurium | 2.1 |
| 51 | Sb | Antimony | 2.05 |
| 5 | B | Boron | 2.04 |
| 83 | Bi | Bismuth | 2.02 |
| 32 | Ge | Germanium | 2.01 |
| 84 | Po | Polonium | 2 |
| 80 | Hg | Mercury | 2 |
| 50 | Sn | Tin | 1.96 |
| 47 | Ag | Silver | 1.93 |
| 27 | Co | Cobalt | 1.91 |
| 75 | Re | Rhenium | 1.9 |
| 14 | Si | Silicon | 1.9 |
| 43 | Tc | Technetium | 1.9 |
| 29 | Cu | Copper | 1.9 |
| 28 | Ni | Nickel | 1.88 |
| 26 | Fe | Iron | 1.83 |
| 31 | Ga | Gallium | 1.81 |
| 49 | In | Indium | 1.78 |
| 48 | Cd | Cadmium | 1.69 |
| 24 | Cr | Chromium | 1.66 |
| 30 | Zn | Zinc | 1.65 |
| 23 | V | Vanadium | 1.63 |
| 81 | Tl | Thallium | 1.62 |
| 13 | Al | Aluminium | 1.61 |
| 41 | Nb | Niobium | 1.6 |
| 4 | Be | Beryllium | 1.57 |
| 25 | Mn | Manganese | 1.55 |
| 22 | Ti | Titanium | 1.54 |
| 91 | Pa | Protactinium | 1.5 |
| 73 | Ta | Tantalum | 1.5 |
| 92 | U | Uranium | 1.38 |
| 93 | Np | Neptunium | 1.36 |
| 21 | Sc | Scandium | 1.36 |
| 40 | Zr | Zirconium | 1.33 |
| 12 | Mg | Magnesium | 1.31 |
| 72 | Hf | Hafnium | 1.3 |
| 99 | Es | Einsteinium | 1.3 |
| 100 | Fm | Fermium | 1.3 |
| 98 | Cf | Californium | 1.3 |
| 101 | Md | Mendelevium | 1.3 |
| 102 | No | Nobelium | 1.3 |
| 103 | Lr | Lawrencium | 1.3 |
| 97 | Bk | Berkelium | 1.3 |
| 96 | Cm | Curium | 1.3 |
| 95 | Am | Americium | 1.3 |
| 90 | Th | Thorium | 1.3 |
| 94 | Pu | Plutonium | 1.28 |
| 71 | Lu | Lutetium | 1.27 |
| 69 | Tm | Thulium | 1.25 |
| 68 | Er | Erbium | 1.24 |
| 67 | Ho | Holmium | 1.23 |
| 66 | Dy | Dysprosium | 1.22 |
| 39 | Y | Yttrium | 1.22 |
| 64 | Gd | Gadolinium | 1.2 |
| 62 | Sm | Samarium | 1.17 |
| 60 | Nd | Neodymium | 1.14 |
| 59 | Pr | Praseodymium | 1.13 |
| 58 | Ce | Cerium | 1.12 |
| 57 | La | Lanthanum | 1.1 |
| 89 | Ac | Actinium | 1.1 |
| 20 | Ca | Calcium | 1 |
| 3 | Li | Lithium | 0.98 |
| 38 | Sr | Strontium | 0.95 |
| 11 | Na | Sodium | 0.93 |
| 88 | Ra | Radium | 0.9 |
| 56 | Ba | Barium | 0.89 |
| 19 | K | Potassium | 0.82 |
| 37 | Rb | Rubidium | 0.82 |
| 55 | Cs | Caesium | 0.79 |
| 87 | Fr | Francium | 0.7 |
Refresher
Elements on the periodic table are arranged based on their electronic configurations. Because of this, where an element is on the periodic table can tell you about its chemical properties. Elements in the same group (column) have the same number of outer electrons, while Elements in the same period (row) have the same number of electron shells. Atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. An ionic bond is a bond between two atoms with opposite charges, where no electrons are shared. Covalent bonds involve a pair of electrons, shared between two atoms.
FAQs
What is electronegativity of an element? Electronegativity is the measure of an atom’s ability to attract electrons towards it in a covalent bond.
How do you calculate electronegativity difference? In order to determine the bond type of a compound, you subtract the electronegativities of the bonded elements. Electronegativity difference values greater 2.0 indicate an ionic bond. Values between 0.5 and 1.6 are deemed polar covalent bonds. Values between 0.0 and 0.5 are considered nonpolar covalent bonds.
Which element has the highest electronegativity? Fluorine has the highest electronegativity.
Which element has the lowest electronegativity? Francium has the lowest electronegativity.
What factors affect electronegativity? Nuclear charge, atomic radius, and shielding (number of electron shells) are three factors that significantly impact the electronegativity value of an element.
Electronegativity
In covalent bonds, shared electrons are pulled towards one of the atoms more than the other. We use the term electronegativity to describe the ability of an atom to pull these electrons toward it. Electronegativity is influenced by the number of protons in the nucleus (atomic number) and the number of valence electrons. The greater the number the protons, the higher the positive charge of the nucleus and the greater ability the atom has to attract shared electrons. However, this is counteracted by the shielding effect of electron shells. The greater the number of electron shells, and the further they are away from the nucleus, the less the attractive force will be between the nucleus and the electrons in the covalent bond.
The Pauling Scale
Electronegativity was first measured and developed by Linus Pauling in 1932. He created the Pauling scale, giving each element a value that corresponds to its ability to attract electrons. The elements range in value from 0.7 (caesium and francium), the least electronegative, to 4.0 (fluorine), the most electronegative.
This number is closely linked to atomic number and radius. For example, Potassium has a value on the Pauling scale of 0.8, which indicates a rather low electronegativity. Potassium has 19 protons in its nucleus, but it also has 4 shells of electrons meaning there is a large number of electrons between the nucleus and the outermost electrons.
Electronegativity Patterns and Trends on the Periodic Table
In general, electronegativity increases across a period because the number of protons increases while the number of shells stays the same. This means there is a greater charge which attracts on the shared electrons. On the other hand, as you progress down a group, the electronegativity decreases, because the number of electron shells increases, counteracting the effect of any increased numbers of protons.
List Of Most Electronegative Elements
Gallium and Germanium are exceptions to this rule, though. These elements have higher electronegativities than Aluminium and Silicon, even though Aluminum and Silicon are above Gallium in Germanium in their respective groups. This is because the D block of transition metals have small atomic radii and their 3d shell is not as effective at shielding nuclear charge.
Electronegativity and Bond Type
Most Electronegative Atoms
Electronegativity has a strong link to the type of bond two elements form. This gives rise to the bonding continuum. If the two elements in a bond have an electronegativity difference of 2.0 or more, they are considered to have an ionic bond as one of the elements in the bond has enough nuclear charge to fully attract electrons in the bond, creating a positive and negative ion. A common example of this bond type is sodium and chlorine which have an electronegativity difference of 2.1.
The Most Electronegative Element Is
If the atoms in a bond have an electronegativity difference between 0.5 and 1.6, they are described as sharing a polar covalent bond. This means that the atoms in these compounds have an unequal sharing of electrons, where the pair of electrons is closer to one of the atoms than another. Water molecules are a common example of a compound with a polar covalent bond.
If the atoms in a bond have an electronegativity difference between 0.0 and 0.5, they are described as sharing a nonpolar covalent bond - the electrons are equally shared between the atoms. For example, in diatomic chlorine gas, two chlorine atoms are bonded, and have the same electronegativity values. The electrons in the covalent bond are thus equally shared.
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