Electron-counting rules

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-003744",
  "term": "Electron-counting rules",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "A set of principles used to predict the structural stability of molecules, particularly cluster compounds, based on the total number of valence electrons. These rules correlate specific electron counts with particular stable geometries for main-group, transition-metal, and organometallic clusters. The Wade-Mingos rules, for example, predict the structures of boranes and carboranes based on the number of skeletal electron pairs.",
  "subject": "Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry",
  "see_also": [
    "structural stability",
    "valence"
  ],
  "references": [
    "PAC, 1999, 71, 1919. 'Glossary of terms used in theoretical organic chemistry' on page 1936 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199971101919)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/electron-counting-rules/"
}