What is "electrophile"

n. (context chemistry English) a compound or functional group that is attractive to, and accepts electrons, especially accepting an electron pair from a nucleophile to form a bond

In chemistry, an electrophile is a reagent attracted to electrons. Electrophiles are positively charged or neutral species having vacant orbitals that are attracted to an electron rich centre. It participates in a chemical reaction by accepting an electron pair in order to bond to a nucleophile. Because electrophiles accept electrons, they are Lewis acids (see acid-base reaction theories). Most electrophiles are positively charged, have an atom that carries a partial positive charge, or have an atom that does not have an octet of electrons.

The electrophiles are attacked by the most electron-populated part of one nucleophile. The electrophiles frequently seen in the organic syntheses are cations such as H and NO, polarized neutral molecules such as HCl, alkyl halides, acyl halides, and carbonyl compounds, polarizable neutral molecules such as Cl and Br, oxidizing agents such as organic peracids, chemical species that do not satisfy the octet rule such as carbenes and radicals, and some Lewis acids such as BH and DIBAL.