Question

Lithium forms an ionic bond with fluorine. During this process, which one of the atoms becomes a positively charged ion?

Answer 1

Metals are electron rich and tend to be reducing........

Explanation:

Whereas non-metals, further to the right on the Periodic Table, and with intrinsically high nuclear charge, tend to be electron poor, and tend to be oxidizing.

Fluorine is the most reactive element on the Periodic Table, and is a potent oxidizing agent.

The reaction between the metal and the non-metal is a formal redox process:

`Li(g) rarr Li^+(g)+e^-` `"OXIDATION"`

`1/2F_2(g) +e^(-) rarr F^(-)(g)+e^-` `"REDUCTION"`

And the combined reaction is trivial:

`Li(s) + 1/2F_2(g) rarr LiF(s)`