Methyl cation electron distribution

Fig. 1.28. (a) Electron density of the methyl cation in the plane of the atoms (truncated at C) (b) gradient vector field Vp(r) of the electron density distribution terminating at H (Ijj), C (If-) the bond path and critical point (11) and the zero flux surfaces (111) partitioning the ion into C and H atoms. From E. Kraka and D. Cremer, in Theoretical Models of Chemical Bonding, Part 2, Z. B. Maksic, ed., Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1990, pp. 459, 461. 

Electrostatic potential plots showing the distribution of the positive charge in (a) the methyl cation and (b) the tert-butyl cation. Electron donation by the methyl groups decreases the positive charge (blue area) on the central carbon of the tert-butyl cation. 

The properties of tert butyl cation can be understood by focusing on its structure which IS shown m Figure 4 9 With only six valence electrons which are distributed among three coplanar ct bonds the positively charged carbon is sp hybridized The unhybridized 2p orbital that remains on the positively charged carbon contains no elec Irons Its axis is perpendicular to the plane of the bonds connecting that carbon to the three methyl groups... 

The ratio of isomeric ethers is strongly affected by polar substituents which induce an asymmetric distribution of charge in allylic cations. Photolysis of methyl 2-diazo-4-phenyl-3-butenoate (20) in methanol produced 24 in large excess over 25 as the positive charge of 22 resides mainly a to phenyl (Scheme 8).19 As would be expected, proton transfer to the electron-poor carbene 21 proceeds reluctantly intramolecular addition with formation of the cyclopropene... 

Alkylideneallyl cations can be described as resonance hybrids of 1-vinyl-substituted vinyl cations and allenylmethyl cations, and thus contain two reactive sites (the sp- and sp2-hybridized carbons) for nucleophilic addition (Scheme 1) (7,2). Hybridization affects the electronic and steric character of these reaction sites. The electronic property was deduced from the l3C NMR chemical shifts of alkylideneallyl cations measured under superacidic conditions (3) and also from the charge distribution calculated (4). The charge distributions are affected by substituents on the cation the sp2 carbon is more positive than the sp carbon when two methyl groups are introduced at the sp2 carbon. 

Removal of an electron from a hydrazine unit changes the lone pair orbital occupancy from four to three, which has a large effect on the preferred geometry with respect to the nitrogens. The formation of a three-electron bond has also been demonstrated in the cation radical of octamethyl-l,2,4,5-tetra-aza-3,6-disilacyclohexane. In this cation radical, the spin density is distributed between only two of the four nitrogen atoms. There is a pronounced interaction of the unpaired electron with protons of the methyl groups joined to these two nitrogen atoms. 

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