A network-based correlation research between element electronegativity and node importance

'Abstracted from real compounds, chemical elements can be considered a system tied by chemical bonds (or bonding relationships) between two elements, namely the chemical element and chemical bond system. Then, elements, bonds and their properties can be studied from the view of complex networks. Based on the previous work, we introduce bond polarity to judge edge direction and select four electronegativity scales to build the directed chemical bond networks. Taking node importance and element electronegativity as an example, we discuss the relationships of properties between chemistry and networks. Through quantitative analysis, the importance scale changing trends in all networks are found to follow the similar periodic laws. And there exist statistically significant correlations between most of scale pairs. The further analysis proves the similar chemical meanings between above two scales. All these conclusions are unassociated with specific electronegativity scales, even if their networks have different nodes and edges, which prove the rationality and universality of the proposed method. Our research gives a network explanation on element electronegativity, and we can study more objects and chemical properties from the view of complex networks.

Automated summary

Chemical elements and bonding relationships between them can be studied as a complex network. By introducing bond polarity and selecting electronegativity scales, directed chemical bond networks are constructed. The relationships between node importance and element electronegativity are discussed, and periodic laws and significant correlations are observed. The proposed method is proven to be rational and universal, providing a network explanation for element electronegativity.