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Carbocation

  • Page ID
    39208
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    A carbocation is a species containing a carbon atom that lacks an octet of valence electrons and bears a formal charge of +1.

    eg:

    carbocation2.png

    Some carbocations are resonance stabilized, in which case some or all resonance forms of the species fit the above definition.

    eg:

    carbocation1.png

    see also alkyl carbocation, allylic carbocation, benzylic carbocation, acylium ion, alkenyl carbocation, aryl carbocation


    This page titled Carbocation 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; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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