Question
Discuss in brief the factors which influence the magnitude of electron gain enthalpy.
Solution
The main factors are:
1. Nuclear charge. Greater the magnitude of the nuclear charge, greater will be the attraction for the incoming electron. As a result, electron gain enthalpy becomes more negative.
2. Size of the atom. Larger the size of the atom, more will be the distance between the nucleus and the additional electron and this results in lesser attraction. Consequently, electron gain enthalpy becomes less negative.
3. Electronic configuration. An atom with stable configuration of half filled or completely filled orbitals has no tendency to gain an electron. Such atoms have zero or almost zero electron gain enthalpy.
