Mulliken electronegativity (${\chi }_{\mathrm{M}}$)

Mulliken electronegativity uses both the cost of removing an Electron and the energy released by accepting an Electron. For specified isolated-atom states, the common ground-state convention isThe free Electron's energy is the zero reference. Here $I$ is the ionization energy and $A_{\mathrm{ea}}$ is the electron affinity, positive for exothermic attachment. If attachment is instead tabulated as the signed energy change $\Delta E_{\mathrm{attach}}=E(X^{-})-E(X)$, the same expression is $(I-\Delta E_{\mathrm{attach}})/2$. Stating the sign convention prevents adding the wrong quantities. The 1934 original treated suitable valence states, which are not automatically the ground states used in this example.^[ref]

Mulliken electronegativity has energy units before any additional rescaling. With $I$ and $A_{\mathrm{ea}}$ in electronvolts per chemical atom, ${\chi }_{\mathrm{M}}$ is in electronvolts; with both in $\mathrm{kJ}\mathrm{mo}{\mathrm{l}}^{-1}$, it is a molar energy. For hydrogen, the RSC ground-state inputs are $I=1312.05$ and $A_{\mathrm{ea}}=72.769\mathrm{kJ}\mathrm{mo}{\mathrm{l}}^{-1}$, giving ${\chi }_{\mathrm{M}}=692.4095\mathrm{kJ}\mathrm{mo}{\mathrm{l}}^{-1}\approx 7.176\mathrm{eV}$ per chemical atom. For chlorine, $I=1251.186$ and $A_{\mathrm{ea}}=348.575\mathrm{kJ}\mathrm{mo}{\mathrm{l}}^{-1}$ give $799.8805\mathrm{kJ}\mathrm{mo}{\mathrm{l}}^{-1}\approx 8.290\mathrm{eV}$. These are calculated ground-state Mulliken electronegativities, not the RSC's tabulated Pauling electronegativities.^[ref][ref]

Both schemes place chlorine above hydrogen here, but their numerical differences cannot be subtracted from one another or equated. Dividing a molar Mulliken electronegativity by an energy conversion factor changes units; it does not transform it into a Pauling electronegativity. A further empirical mapping would require its own calibration and stated domain.