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What is the geometry and bond angle of carbocation?

A carbocation is a positively charged, electron-deficient carbon ion that acts as a reactive intermediate in many organic reactions.

The central carbon in a carbocation has only 6 valence electrons instead of the preferred 8 by covalent bonding. As a result, it has only three covalent bonds and, therefore, trivalent.

 

How carbocation is trivalent?

 

The trivalent carbon atom can have three substituents- H, alkyl, or aryl. The substituents are spread so that there are minimum repulsive interactions, and the carbocation's bond angle is 1200. The geometry is planar triangular, with the substituents occupying the corners of the triangle.

 

What is the geometry of carbocation?

 

The most common way carbocation forms are by heterolytic bond cleavage reactions; another is the addition of electrophile to unsaturated bond. Post the cleavage, the central tetrahedral carbon loses the bond electron to change hybridization from sp3 to sp2 for the carbocation.

The empty 2p orbital lies vacant and perpendicular to the plane of the carbocation with its substituents. This p-orbital is significant for carbocation’s stability by resonance and hyperconjugation.

 

How carbocation hybridization changes from sp3 to sp2

 

Related Reading- 

What is a carbocation? 

How carbocation forms?

What is heterolytic bond cleavage

What is a tetrahedral sp3 carbon?

 

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