Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Incipient
carbocation
:
A
carbocation
that is in the process of being formed. Usually encountered in a
transition state
.
The
transition state
for the
rate determining step
of an
S
N
1 reaction
involves an incipient
carbocation
. In this example, the
transition state
for
ionization
of a carbon-iodine
bond
involves an incipient tri
phenyl
methyl
carbocation
(
Ph
3
C
+
).
Related terms:
δ
+
,
δ
-
,
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