Chemistry · Ch 7 — Elements of Groups 16, 17 and 18
Compounds of Xenon
7.13
Compounds of Xenon
We have studied earlier in this chapter that group 18 elements have very high ionisation energies, and due to this property they are unreactive. Each noble gas atom has a completely filled valence electron shell, which makes it inert.
The first ionization potential decreases down the group; hence the heavier noble gases — Kr, Xe and Rn — can form compounds, due to their low ionization energy.
Note
Do you know ? The first true compound of a noble gas was made in 1962 by Neil Bartlett and Lohman: . Only xenon reacts directly with fluorine to form xenon fluorides. (The book's box prints the discoverer's name as "Barteltt" — the chemist is Neil Bartlett.) …