Friday, November 18, 2011

Question on stability of Carbocation

Which among the following two cations is the most stable?



Answer:


(2) is most stable among the two cations given because nitrogen atom is less electronegative than oxygen atom and hence will destabilize the positive charge on carbon atom to a lesser extent by inductive effect. Moreover, nitrogen atom will have more tendency than oxygen atom to provide the lone pair of electrons available with it for the resonance stabilization of the positive charge on the carbon atom.

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