• Carbocations?are positively charged carbon atoms with only three covalent bonds instead of four
• There are three types of carbocations: primary, secondary and tertiary

Inductive effect

• The alkyl groups attached to the positively charged carbon atoms are?‘electron?donating groups’
• This is also known as the?inductive effect?of alkyl?groups
• The inductive effect is illustrated by the use of arrowheads on the bonds
• The alkyl groups?push?electrons away from themselves towards the positively charged carbon
• This causes the carbocation to become?less?positively?charged
• As a result of this, the?charge?is?spread?around?the carbocation which makes it?energetically?more?stable
• This means that tertiary carbocations are the most stable as they have?three?electron-donating alkyl groups which energetically stabilise the carbocation
• Due to the positive charge on the carbon atom, carbocations are electron-loving species (electrophiles)

Alkyl groups push electron density towards the carbocation making it energetically more stable; the more alkyl groups the carbocation is bonded to, the more stabilised it is

Markovnikov’s rule

• In addition reactions, an electrophile reacts with the double bond of alkenes

The electrophile reacts with the electron-rich C-C double bond

• The?electrophile?will add to the carbon to give the most?stable?carbocation

The most stable carbocation is the major product of the nucleophilic attack on the C-C double bond

• Therefore, the nucleophile will bond to the C-C carbon atom with the highest number of alkyl groups bonded to it

The nucleophile ends up to the most substituted C-C carbon atom

• This is also known as the?Markovnikov’s?rule?which predicts the outcome of?addition reactions?and states that:In an?addition reaction?of a halogen halide (HX) to an alkene, the halogen ends up bonded to the most substituted carbon atom.