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Chemistry LibreTexts

Electrophilic Atom

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An electrophilic atom is an electron-deficient atom in a molecule or ion. Use the following generalizations to identify most common types of electron-deficient atoms:

1. An atom that lacks an octet of valence electrons in one or more resonance forms is electron-deficient.

eg. 1:

electrophilicatom1.png

eg. 2:

electrophilicatom2.png

eg. 3:

electrophilicatom3.png

2. A formally neutral atom bearing a partial positive charge but no lone pairs is an electron-defficient atom.

eg. 1:

electrophilicatom4.png

eg. 2:

electrophilicatom5.png

eg. 3:

electrophilicatom6.png

see also nucleophilic atom, nucleophile, electrophile

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This page titled Electrophilic Atom is shared under a All Rights Reserved (used with permission) license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gamini Gunawardena via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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