How would you account for the following:
The electron gain enthalpy with negative sign for fluorine is less than that for chlorine, still fluorine is a stronger oxidising agent than chlorine.

Explanation

Fluorine is upper in the Group 17 than Cl. Therefore F is a more electronegative and hence stronger oxidising agent than chlorine.
But the electron gain enthalpy with negative sign for fluorine is less than that for chlorine. This is because fluorine atom being smaller cannot accommodate more electrons easily due to inter-electronic repulsions. Hence less energy is released with `F_2`