Three-Dimensional Periodic Table Of Elements Proposed

Abstract

Recently, Princeton University physical chemistry professor Leland C. Allen had to relearn inorganic chemistry so he could teach it to undergraduates. That experience gave Allen a few ideas that, if accepted by the chemistry community, would change some basic tenets of inorganic chemistry, including the form of the periodic table of elements. Allen proposes a redefinition of one of the most basic quantities in chemistry—electronegativity, the tendency of an atom to attract electrons [ J. Am. Chem. Soc ., 111 , 9003 (1989)]. In addition, he says that electronegativity, which he now calls valence-shell energy, is the third dimension of the periodic table. To bring the concept of electronegativity into more widespread use Allen has translated valence-shell energy into a quantum mechanical operator that can be employed in computational chemistry programs. Furthermore, he proposes a simple equation that corrects for the effects of electronegativity in formal charge calculations [ J. Am. Chem. Soc ., 111 ,9115(...