What is "carbocation"

n. (context chemistry English) any cation containing an excess positive charge on one or more carbon atoms

A carbocation is an ion with a positively charged carbon atom. Among the simplest examples are methenium , methanium , and ethanium . Some carbocations may have two or more positive charges, on the same carbon atom or on different atoms; such as the ethylene dication .

Until the early 1970s, all carbocations were called carbonium ions. In present-day chemistry, a carbocation is any ion with a positively charged carbon atom, classified in two main categories according to the valence of the charged carbon: three in the carbenium ions (protonated carbenes), and five or six in the carbonium ions (protonated alkanes, named by analogy to ammonium). This nomenclature was proposed by G. A. Olah. Carbocations are stabilized by the dispersion or delocalization of the positive charge