Deep dive

Ions And Isoelectronic Series

An ion is an atom or molecular entity carrying a net electric charge because its numbers of protons and electrons are not balanced.

How the ideas connect

A good science page should make the connection visible, not just list definitions.

Ions

An ion is an atom or molecular entity carrying a net electric charge because its numbers of protons and electrons are not balanced.

Losing electrons gives a positive charge; gaining electrons gives a negative charge. This simple bookkeeping is behind salts, electrochemistry and much of solution chemistry.

→ Ions

Ionic radius

Ionic radius is an effective size assigned to an ion within a structural or bonding model, commonly derived from interionic distances in crystals.

Cations are often smaller than their neutral atoms and anions often larger, but coordination number and oxidation state can strongly affect tabulated values.

→ Ionic radius

Isoelectronic series

This concept connects electron structure with the architecture and chemical trends of the periodic table.

Mendeleev.com · scientific information checked against primary reference sources.

→ Isoelectronic series

Ionization energy

Ionization energy is the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion in a specified state. Successive ionization energies refer to successive electron removals.

Its periodic pattern is powerful but not perfectly smooth because subshell structure, pairing and shielding matter.

→ Ionization energy

What to notice

A good science page should make the connection visible, not just list definitions.

Sources

IUPAC Gold Book · NIST · BIPM