In an ionic compound, the size of the ions affects the internuclear distance (the distance between the centers of adjacent ions)
, which affects lattice energy (a measure of the attractive force holding those ions together). Based on ion sizes, arrange these compounds by their expected lattice energy. Note that many sources define lattice energies as negative values. Please arrange by magnitude and ignore the sign. ∣∣lattice energy∣∣=absolute value of the lattice energy Na2S, K2S Cs2S Li2S
The lattice energy of ionic species depends on the relative sizes of ions in the ionic compounds. As the size of ions increases, the lattice energy decreases and vice versa.
When the size of the anions are the same, the lattice energy now depends on the relative sizes of the cations. Therefore, since all the compounds are sulphides and the order of magnitude of ionic sizes is: Li^+ < Na^+ < K^+ < Cs^+.
Therefore, the order of decrease in lattice energy is; Li2S> Na2S> K2S> CsS
