Electronegativity and Periodic Table Trends

electronegativity

Electronegativity is a measure of the attraction of an atom for the electrons in a chemical bond. The higher the electronegativity of an atom, the greater its attraction for bonding electrons. In an element group, the electronegativity decreases as atomic number increases, as a result of increased distance between the valence electron and nucleus (greater atomic radius). An example of an electropositive (i.e., low electronegativity) element is cesium; an example of a highly electronegative element is fluorine.

  • Moving left to right across the periodic table, electronegativity increases.
  • Moving top to bottom down the periodic table, electronegativity decreases.