Why fluorine is more reactive than chlorine

Chlorine has the electron configuration [Ne]3s 2 3p 5 , with the seven electrons in the third and outermost shell acting as its valence electrons. Like all halogens, it is thus one electron short of a full octet, and is hence a strong oxidising agent, reacting with many elements in order to complete its outer shell. Corresponding to periodic trends, it is intermediate in electronegativity between fluorine and bromine F: 3.

It is also a weaker oxidising agent than fluorine, but a stronger one than bromine. Chlorine has two stable isotopes, 35 Cl and 37 Cl. Both are synthesised in stars in the oxygen-burning and silicon-burning processes.

The simplest chlorine compound is hydrogen chloride, HCl, a major chemical in industry as well as in the laboratory, both as a gas and dissolved in water as hydrochloric acid. Sagar answered this. Anju answered this. Fluorine being smaller in size can hold the electron gained more easily than Chlorine. So, Fluorine is more reactive than Chlorine. Priyanshi answered this.

Because florine is more electronegative than chlorine , so it can gain electron more easily than chlorine. Aditya Yadav answered this.

At GCSE the impression is sometimes given that the fall in reactivity is because the incoming electron is held less strongly as you go down the group and so the negative ion is less likely to form.

That explanation looks reasonable until you include fluorine! An overall reaction will be made up of lots of different steps all involving energy changes, and you cannot safely try to explain a trend in terms of just one of those steps.

Fluorine is much more reactive than chlorine despite the lower electron affinity because the energy released in other steps in its reactions more than makes up for the lower amount of energy released as electron affinity. You are only ever likely to meet this with respect to the group 6 elements oxygen and sulphur which both form 2- ions.

The second electron affinity is the energy required to add an electron to each ion in 1 mole of gaseous 1- ions to produce 1 mole of gaseous 2- ions. The positive sign shows that you have to put in energy to perform this change. The second electron affinity of oxygen is particularly high because the electron is being forced into a small, very electron-dense space. If this is the first set of questions you have done, please read the introductory page before you start. First electron affinity Ionisation energies are always concerned with the formation of positive ions.

Defining first electron affinity The first electron affinity is the energy released when 1 mole of gaseous atoms each acquire an electron to form 1 mole of gaseous 1- ions. This is more easily seen in symbol terms. It is the energy released per mole of X when this change happens. The first electron affinities of the group 7 elements F. Is there a pattern? Why is fluorine out of line?

Comparing Group 6 and Group 7 values As you might have noticed, the first electron affinity of oxygen kJ mol -1 is less than that of fluorine kJ mol Fluorine is more reactive.

Fluorine is most electronegative, thus it is most reactive. Likewise, why is fluorine more reactive than oxygen? Fluorine is the most reactive because it has the strongest attraction for oxygen. We say that fluorine is electronegative. Since electronegativity decreases going to the left of the periodic table, oxygen is the second most reactive element on the list. Metalloids are generally less reactive than metals and nonmetals.

Chlorine is less reactive than fluorine because the outer electrons in a chlorine atom are further from the nucleus than the outer electrons in a fluorine atom.

It is harder for a chlorine atom to gain an electron than it is for a fluorine atom. So they will react with other elements and take electrons from them. The smallest Halogens are best at doing this: so Fluorine is more reactive than Chlorine, which is more reactive than Bromine, which is more reactive than Iodine , which would be more reactive than Astatine.

Reactivity is an elements ability to gain an electron. So the better it is at "stealing" electrons, the more reactive it will be. The thing that makes fluorine so reactive is its electronegativity.

Therefore, since fluorine has a higher electronegatvity than chlorine , fluorine is more reactive. What is the most reactive?