Born–Haber cycle

At the end of this activity, students should be able to:
– describe the formation of an ionic compound as a series of steps
– explain every step in the formation of an ionic compound and the enthalpy changes involved: enthalpy of atomisation, ionisation enthalpy, electron affinity and lattice formation enthalpy
– describe a Born–Haber cycle as an energy diagram linking the enthalpy of formation to the enthalpy changes of atomisation, ionisation and crystal lattice formation
– use a Born–Haber cycle to calculate enthalpy changes and to predict the stability of an ionic compound.