Chemistry · Periodic trends in properties of elements: atomic and ionic radii, ionization enthalpy, electron gain enthalpy, valence, oxidation states and chemical reactivity
The low electron affinity value of nitrogen is due to:
The low electron affinity value of nitrogen is due to:
- A. small size
- B. high nuclear charge
- C. half-filled 2p subshell
- D. high metallic character
Step-by-step solution
Nitrogen has a half-filled 2p subshell (2p³). Adding an electron would require pairing in one of the p orbitals, leading to increased electron-electron repulsion, which makes the process less exothermic (or even endothermic) compared to neighboring elements. Thus, its electron affinity is low.