Pressure used to define relationship between atomic radii and electronegativity
Analysis of electronic state transitions uncovers long-sought connection between key chemical concepts
Researchers in Sweden and Italy have derived an equation that illustrates how van der Waals radii and electronegativity relate to each other as a function of pressure. ‘This connection has been implied for a very long time; it’s very intuitive in a way. If electrons are closer to a nucleus they are more bound and the atom is both smaller and more electronegative,’ says Martin Rahm of Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, who led the study.