Tellurium is a period 5 chalcogen. Selenium is a period 4 chalcogen. If the only factor affecting ionization energies was the nu
clear charge, then electrons would be easier to remove (ionize) from Se than Te. Experimentally the opposite is true. It takes 941.0 kJ/mol of energy to ionize the outermost electron from Se while it only takes 869.3 kJ/mol to ionize from Te. A good model should account for this. Quantum mechanical calculations do predict this but require access to sophisticated software, large amounts of computing power and technical expertise. Slater suggested that some simple empirical rules that take into account electron electron repulsion (or shielding) could give a good estimate of the effective nuclear charge (Zeff). The Zeff for the outermost electron in Te is . The Zeff for the outermost electrons in Se is . According to Slater's calculation of effective nuclear charge (does or does not) predict the correct ordering of ionization energies for Se and Te. A better means of rationalizing ionization energies is to include the atomic as follows: [Z subscript e f f end subscript over r squared] . For Te, r = 136 pm and for Se r = 117 pm. This new model (does or does not) predict the correct ordering of first ionization energies for Se and Te.
