Born Forces

Born forces are one type of force that acts upon atoms in an ionic lattice. In simplest terms, because ions have some finite size, electron-electron and nucleus-nucleus interactions occur and give rise to repulsion forces and electrostatic potential, both called Born forces.

Introduction
Lattice energy is the energy released when gaseous cations and anions bond to form a solid ionic compound. With the Born-Lande equation one can calculate the lattice energy of a crystalline ionic compound. Born and Lande theorized around the turn of the century, that lattice energy of a crystalline ionic compound could be found by calculating terms of electrostatic potential and a repulsive potential. Table 1: Born Forces Defined Mathematically

The first potential is the force of attraction. It is a negative value because it pulls the two atoms closer together, and the forming of a bond is energetically favorable. In English it reads, the negative value of Avogadros number (6.022x10 ) times a Madelung Constant (varies) times the absolute value of the charge of the cation times -19 the absolute value of the charge of the anion, times the charge of an electron (1.6022x10 C) all over four times pi times the emissivity of space times the ion radius. The second equation is the repulsive force. It found by 23 multiplying Avogadros number (6.022x10 ) by a repulsion coefficient, and dividing that by the ionic radius raised to the power of a Born exponent (some number between 5 and 12).
23

Implications of Born Forces

Attractive forces are affected by the charge of the ions and their radii. Ions with large charges (like Mg
1+ 1+ 7+

or O ) have
-

2-

greater attractive potential than those with smaller charges (like Na or F ). Smaller ions (like Li or Cl ) also have + greater electrostatic potential than larger ions (like I or Cs ). The Madelung constant is dependent on the crystal structure type. This value is found in tables online or in a text, but in general can be thought of as large with larger cation-cation distances and anion-anion distances. A structure with fluorite geometry has a relatively large A value, whereas rock salt crystals have a much lower A value. Repulsive forces are mainly determined by the born exponent. The Born exponent is dictated by the electronic configuration of the noble gas in the row above it on the periodic table (a closed shell).