The arguments presented in the Comment by Liebman and Huheey are shown to be incorrect. The operational equivalence of Mulliken ground-state electronegativities and Pauling electronegativities is demonstrated for neutral atoms. It is shown that ground-state electronegativities and valence-state electronegativities for both neutral atoms and ions are also operationally equivalent. A single electronegativity scale based on Mulliken ground-state electronegativities may therefore be used for neutral atoms, ions, and fractionally charged atoms, as originally implied in the paper by Lackner and Zweig.

• Received 30 June 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.36.1562