Carbocations and Electrophilic Reactions

The general concept of carbocations encompasses all cations of carbon containing compounds which can be differentiated into two distinct classes: trivalent ("classical") carbenium ions and pentacoordinated ("nonclassical") carbonium ions. In this paper the preparation and structural study (by NMR, IR, Raman and ESCA spectroscopy) of stable carbenium ions and carbonium ions are discussed. As is well known, trivalent carbenium ions play an important role in electrophilic reactions of π- and n-donor systems. Similarly, pentacoordinated carbonium ions are the key to electrophilic reactions of σ-donor systems (single bonds). The ability of single bonds to act as σ-donor lies in their ability to form carbonium ions via triangular two electron, three-center bond formation. Consequently there seems to be no principle difference between the electrophilic reactions of π- and σ-bonds except that the former react more easily, even with weak electrophiles, whereas the latter necessitate more severe conditions. The role of carbocations in electrophilic reactions of π- and σ-donor systems is discussed.