The tridurylsilylium and tridurylstannylium cations: free and not so free

In ordinary chemical reactions, the nucleus — which contains the protons and neutrons of each atom and thus identifies the element — remains unchanged. Electrons, however, can be added to atoms by transfer from other atoms, lost by transfer to other atoms, or shared with other atoms. The transfer and sharing of electrons among atoms govern the chemistry of the elements. During the formation of some compounds, atoms gain or lose electrons to form electrically charged particles called ions.

Ions are atoms or molecules bearing an electrical charge. A cation (a positive ion) forms when a neutral atom loses one or more electrons from its valence shell, and an anion (a negative ion) forms when a neutral atom gains one or more electrons in its valence shell. Compounds composed of ions are called ionic compounds (or salts), and their constituent ions are held together by ionic bonds: electrostatic forces of attraction between oppositely charged cations and anions.

VSEPR Theory for Determination of Electron Pair Geometries

Tetrahedral Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...

An allyl group is a three-carbon conjugated system where the sp³-hybridized allylic carbon is bonded to a CH=CH2 group via a single bond. Allyl anions can be obtained by treating propene with a strong base that can deprotonate methyl groups. Allyl cations are formed as intermediates during substitution reactions involving allylic halides. In both cases, the hybridization of the allylic carbon changes from sp3 to sp2, giving rise to a carbon chain with three sp2-hybridized carbons, each with an...

Cycloheptatriene is a neutral monocyclic unsaturated hydrocarbon that consists of an odd number of carbon atoms and an intervening sp3 carbon in the ring. The three double bonds in the ring correspond to 6 π electrons, which is a Huckel number, and therefore satisfies the criteria of 4n + 2 π electrons. However, the intervening sp3 carbon disrupts the continuous overlap of p orbitals. As a result, cycloheptatriene is not aromatic.
Removing one hydrogen from the intervening CH2 group with both...