electonegativity...?

Question

is there a correlation between an atoms electronegativity and any physical property?

sorry - let me rephrase...what factors determine the electronegativity of an atom?

Answer 1

The main factors affecting an atom's electronegativity are the shielding electrons (electrons between the nucleus and the outer or valence electrons) and thus atomic radius which increases ionization energy (energy required to remove an electron). Using these factors, electronegativity increases from the bottom left of the periodic table to the upper right hand corner (i.e. fluorine is the most electronegative...) The effect it would have on physical properties? Well it would be more likely to form ionic bonds vs. covalent bonds (thats all I can think of now)

Answer 2

Electronegativity is determined by the effective nuclear charge that the outer electrons feel from the nucleus. The higher that charge, the stronger attraction the nucleus will have for extra electrons.

Electronegativity affects chemical properties, but there really isn't an established correlation between electronegativity and any physical property.

Answer 3

If you were to look at a periodic table you would see that electronegativity increases as you move up a column, and it increases as you move right down a row. Essentially, the number of valence electrons and the distance of those electrons from the nucleus determine electronegativity.

* Electronegativies for transition metals do not always follow that pattern.