Question #65200

1 Answer
SCooke
May 13, 2016

Most likely, #F^-# will have a slightly smaller ionic radius than #N^(3-)#.

Explanation:

For ions derived from elements in different groups, a size comparison is meaningful only if the ions are isoelectronic.

From the periodic Table of the elements we see that N is two columns to the left of F, so their ground-state configuration would mean F is slightly larger.

Adding 3 electrons to N would increase its radius to slightly more than F, and probably just a bit more than the extra electron will add to the ionic radius of F- because they will not be bound as tightly to the nucleus.

Related questions
See all questions in Periodic Trends in Ionic Size
Impact of this question
2991 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License