ionization energy
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Ionization energy is the minimum amount of energy needed to remove an electron from an atom or molecule in its gaseous state. It matters because it helps us understand how easily atoms give up electrons, which influences how they bond with other atoms and their chemical behavior.
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Ionization energy trends plotted against the atomic number, in units eV. The ionization energy gradually increases from the alkali metals to the noble gases. The maximum ionization energy also decreases from the first to the last row in a given column, due to the increasing distance of the valence electron shell from the nucleus. Predicted values are used for elements beyond 104.
In physics and chemistry, ionization energy (IE) is the minimum energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron(s) (the valence electron(s)) of an isolated gaseous atom, positive ion, or molecule. The first ionization energy is quantitatively expressed as