Ionization Energy
What is Ionization Energy?
Ionization energy is the minimum energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron from a gaseous atom or ion in its ground state. First ionization energy refers to the removal of the first electron, second ionization energy to the removal of the second (from the resulting cation), and so on. Ionization energy generally increases across a period and decreases down a group of the periodic table, reflecting trends in nuclear charge, atomic radius, and electron shielding.
Key Facts
Frequently Asked Questions
Ionization energy is the minimum energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron from a gaseous atom or ion in its ground state. First ionization energy refers to the removal of the first electron, second ionization energy to the removal of the second (from the resulting cation), and so on. Ionization energy generally increases across a period and decreases down a group of the periodic table, reflecting trends in nuclear charge, atomic radius, and electron shielding.