The nature of the carbocationic intermediate involved in electrophilic halogen addition to a carbon-carbon double bond is an unsettled matter for many olefin-halogen reactions. The structure of this intermediate depends on several factors such as the structure of the olefin, the halogen, the solvent, and the added electrolytes, if any.'The mechanism of electrophilic chlorine addition to cinnamic acid and its derivatives has been studied in great detai1. 2, 3 ...
