Answer to Question #330594 in General Chemistry for Debz

Question

Elements with very large ionization energies also tend to have highly exothermic electron affinities. Explain. Which group of elements would you expect to be an exception to this statement?

Answer 1

The exception is the group of inert gases, the main subgroup of the 8th group of the periodic table of elements, since their outer electron shell is in the most energetically favorable stable state with a filled octet. This fact complicates the attachment of an electron and eliminates the exothermic affinity for an electron.