The electronic structure of carbonium ions

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A large number of carbonium ions are calculated with a modified CNDO procedure. The study of the electronic structure of these electron deficient compounds using energy partitioning and localized orbital techniques leads to an understanding of the observed trends of the stabilities of carbonium ions. The stabilization of a positive charge by methyl substituents is broken down into hyperconjugative, hybridization and inductive effects. Nonclassical structures characterized by three center bonds are also investigated. The chemical reactivity of carbonium ions is explained by the ability of the empty orbital to combine steadily with bond orbitals.