Ionization Energy & Acids

[gracebinder3I]

I was wondering if someone could explain if there is some trend/correlation between ionization energy and weak vs strong acids with adding/removing e-. Thanks!

[Mia Yamada 1J]

Hi!

Not sure if there is a particular trend in relation to ionization energy (the minimum energy required to remove an e-), but there is a correlation between acid strength and the electronegativities of the atoms in the molecule of the acid.

For instance, for binary acids of the same period, the greater the difference in the electronegativities of the two atoms (the more polar the bond), the stronger the acid.

For carboxylic acids, the greater the electronegativities of the groups attached to the carboxyl group, the stronger the acid.

Hope this was helpful!

[Christina Gigoux 1D]

To add, ionization energies and electronegativities of atoms are connected and follow the same trend, so atoms with high electronegitivity also have high ionization energies.