Carbocations are species bearing a positive charge on carbon. They are intermediates generally formed during organic reactions, which can be stabilised by various electronic effects. Less stable carbocations are capable of undergoing rearrangements to form more stable carbocations in the course of a reaction.
Carbocations (a portmanteau of carbon and cation) are one of the three main reactive intermediates in organic reactions (carbocations, carbanions and radicals). They are species which have a positive charge on a carbon.
The positively-charged carbon in a carbocation only has six electrons in its valence shell, and hence is electron-deficient or electrophilic, making it extremely susceptible towards nucleophilic attack. Carbocations generally show $\mathrm{sp^2}$ hybridisation and are therefore trigonal planar about the positive carbon.
