Triphenylcarbenium

In chemistry, triphenylcarbenium, triphenylmethyl cation, tritylium, or trityl cation is an ion with formula [C19H15]+ or (C6H5)3C+, consisting of a carbon atom with a positive charge connected to three phenyl groups. It is a charged version of the triphenylmethyl radical (C6H5)3C•. The name is often abbreviated to triphenylmethyl or trityl in salts, although these names also denote the chemical group in compounds like triphenylmethyl chloride that do not contain the cation.

Triphenylcarbenium is a relatively stable carbenium ion, because the positive charge is partially distributed among 10 of the carbon atoms (the 3 carbon atoms in the ortho and para positions of each of the three phenyl groups, plus the central carbon atom).