Ammonia and amines

one or more of the hydrogen atoms has been replaced by an alkyl or aryl group.

ammonia

methylamine

Amines have unpleasant odours: those with low boiling points smell like ammonia, whereas those that are liquid at room temperature have fishy aromas.

phenylamine

an R when drawing a chemical structure. This is referred to as an R group.

Primary (1°) amines have one R group attached to the nitrogen atom.

Secondary (2°) amines have two R groups attached to the nitrogen atom.

Tertiary (3°) amines have three R groups attached to the nitrogen atom.

the four bonding pairs of electrons (which repel each other) spread out equally around the central nitrogen atom.

Ammonia (NH3) is pyramidal in shape, as it has a lone pair in place of one bonding pair, which exerts a stronger repulsive force.

The amines are shaped similarly to ammonia, with a bond angle of 107° between groups on the nitrogen atom.

identical R groups are attached, the prefix di– is used, and if three identical groups are present, then tri– is used.

triethylamine

they are listed alphabetically.

ethyldipropylamine

methylphenylamine

methyldiphenylamine

molecule, the presence of amine groups is denoted using the amino– prefix.

1,2-diaminopentane

2-aminoethanoic acid

the larger R groups interfere with the hydrogen bonds.

In aqueous solution, amine molecules are able to accept an H+ ion from the water molecules, resulting in an alkaline solution due to the remaining OH- ions.

Shorter chain amines are soluble in water, as the lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom allows them to form hydrogen bonds with water molecules.

point of methylamine (CH3NH2) with that of ethane (CH3CH3) because both molecules contain the same number of electrons and have roughly the same shape.

CH3CH3

CH3CH2CH3

-6.3

16.6

48.6

The main reason the boiling points of the primary amines are higher is that they can form hydrogen bonds with each other.

CH3(CH2)2CH3

-88.6

-42.0

-0.5

nitrogen, so hydrogen bonding between molecules is impossible.

Boiling points of isomeric amines

1°

2°

3°

CH3CH2NHCH3

48

37

CH3(CH2)2NH2

3

(CH3)3N

Secondary amines also form hydrogen bonds, but as the nitrogen atom is in the middle of the hydrocarbon chain the strength of the dipole is slightly less. This decreases the strength of dipole–dipole attractions.

to form a primary amine:

In reality, a mixture of the above products is usually formed, which must be separated by distillation.

RX + R2NH → R3N + HX

A tertiary amine can be formed by nucleophilic attack of a halogenoalkane by a secondary amine:

RX + RNH2 → R2NH + HX

The primary amine may then nucleophillically attack another molecule of halogenoalkane, to form a secondary amine:

RX + NH3 → RNH2 + HX

in the presence of a nickel catalyst:

Nitriles can also be reduced to primary amines using strong reducing agents such as lithium tetrahydridoaluminate (LiAlH4), which can be represented as [H]:

ethanenitrile

propanenitrile

ethylamine

propylamine

E.g: CH3CN + 2H2 → CH3CH2NH2

RCN + 2H2 → RCH2NH2

E.g: CH3CH2CN + 4[H] → CH3CH2CH2NH2

RCN + 4[H] → RCH2NH2

nitrated arenes using a mixture of tin metal and concentrated hydrochloric acid:

This method is commonly used to prepare aromatic amines in the lab. A similar method, using iron instead of tin, is used to prepare phenylamine industrially.

phenylamine

bonded to the nitrogen. The lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen means that aliphatic amines behave similarly to ammonia:

Aromatic amines contain a benzene ring directly attached to the NH2 group.

they act as nucleophiles and take part in reactions involving donation of the lone pair

The delocalized system of the benzene group is able to incorporate the lone pair of electrons from the nitrogen atom, meaning that aromatic amines have different properties to aliphatic amines.

they act as Brønsted–Lowry bases (H+ acceptors).

ring is an electron-withdrawing group. The lone pair of electrons interact with the delocalized electrons in the ring, and so are less readily donated to an H+ ion.

9.38

CH3NH2

(CH3)2NH

C6H5NH2

Aliphatic amines are stronger bases (lower pKb) than ammonia.

This is because alkyl groups repel electrons, leading to an increase in negative charge around the nitrogen so that it more readily attracts and accepts an H+ ion. This means, 2° amines are more basic than 1° amines, and 3° amines are more basic still.

form salts:

ethylamine

ethylammonium chloride

If the reaction is carried out in solution, the amine accepts an H+ from a hydroxonium ion to form an ionic salt and water (a neutralization reaction):                                 

CH3CH2NH2(aq) + H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq)→ CH3CH2NH3+Cl-(aq) + H2O(l)

quaternary ammonium cation (NR4+) and an anion.

Other quaternary ammonium salts, similar to those shown left, are used as antiseptics in products such as wet wipes.

n = 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18

They are used as cationic surfactants in products such as fabric conditioner and shampoo. Their purpose is to smooth fabric or hair, making them softer, by reducing surface tension.

+

acid (HNO2) to produce a diazonium ion:

benzenediazonium
chloride

The diazonium ion is very unstable, so the temperature of the reaction mixture must be kept below 10 °C in order to prevent the ion from decomposing.

an electrophile, which is able to undergo electrophilic substitution with a benzene ring.

This is an example of a coupling reaction. It must take place under alkaline conditions.

The product is an azo compound.

stable and resistant to fading, and so are important in the dye industry.

methyl orange

The colour results from the joining of the two delocalized electron systems via the N=N group. Colour can be altered by changing the number and type of functional groups attached.

Methyl orange indicator is an azo compound. The colour of the molecule changes when H+ ions are added across the N=N bond.