What type of elements are characterized by high ionization energy and high electronegativity?

High ionization energy and high electronegativity are characteristic of nonmetals due to their atomic structure and the way they interact with other elements.

Nonmetals have a tendency to gain electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration, which typically involves having a full outer shell. This leads to them having higher electronegativity values, as they attract electrons more strongly compared to elements that are less electronegative. On the other hand, high ionization energy indicates that a significant amount of energy is required to remove an electron from an atom. Nonmetals, especially in the upper right corner of the periodic table, hold their electrons tightly due to their higher nuclear charge and smaller atomic radius compared to metals, which contributes to their high ionization energy.

Understanding these properties helps explain why nonmetals are generally more reactive in terms of forming covalent bonds, as they seek to gain or share electrons rather than lose them. In contrast, alkali metals are characterized by low ionization energies and would readily lose their outermost electron, while transition metals can show varying properties that do not consistently include high values for both ionization energy and electronegativity. Metalloids exhibit mixed characteristics but typically do not reach the same high levels of ionization