electronegativity
Noun
Meaning
(chemistry) the tendency of an atom or radical to attract electrons in the formation of an ionic bond
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Examples
A large difference in electronegativity leads to more polar (ionic) character in the bond.
Because of the higher electronegativity of lithium, some of its compounds have a more covalent character.
A. L. Allred updated Pauling's original values in 1961 to take account of the greater availability of thermodynamic data, and it is these "revised Pauling" values of the electronegativity that are most often used.
An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the distance at which its valence electrons reside from the charged nucleus.
An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the distance between the valence electrons and the nucleus.
Furthermore, silver's Pauling electronegativity of 1.93 is higher than that of lead (1.87), and its electron affinity of 125.6 kJ/mol is much higher than that of hydrogen (72.8 kJ/mol) and not much less than that of oxygen (141.0 kJ/mol).