carbocation

thumb|120px|The tert-butyl cation is a relatively stable carbenium ion.

Carbocation is a general term for ions with a positively charged carbon atom. In the present-day definition given by the IUPAC, a carbocation is any even-electron cation with significant partial positive charge on a carbon atom. They are further classified in two main categories according to the coordination number of the charged carbon: three in the carbenium ions and five in the carbonium ions. Among the simplest carbocations are the methenium (a carbenium ion), methanium (a carbonium ion), acylium ions , and vinyl cations.