[Jiajun]

hello! Does anybody know how to determine the electronegativity for cations?

Thanks

[CrazyOrganic]

The Electronegativity of an element is determined by its location on the Periodic Table. There have been several scales created. Some are based on properties such as ionization energy and electron affinity while others are based on bond strength of various compounds. You can find these scales with a google search. The general idea is that an electronegative molecule will want to attract electrons. So it seems that an cation would want to attract electrons more than its neutral counterpart because of a lack of electrons which would mean it is more electronegative. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

[Jekel0000]

Electronegativity and Electron Affinity are two different things you need to consider when you are determining
1)[Electron Affinity] which atom in a molecule is the central atom. example Lewis structure of NO2 the atom with the lowest electron affinity is the central atom. See the Rules for Lewis Dot Structures...
2) [Electronegativity] If the molecule has a dipole meaning(if the molecule is Polar or Non-Polar). The electronegativity will help you to determine if a molecule has a dipole on it, because the electronegativity of the atom will tell you where the electrons will possible be...

[AWK]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronegativity