Study Guides/Chemistry/Formula of Amine
Study Guide · Chemistry

Formula of Amine in Organic Chemistry

Amines are organic compounds derived from Ammonia (NH₃) by replacing one, two, or all three hydrogen atoms with alkyl (R) or aryl (Ar) groups. They are classified into three types based on the number of hydrogen atoms replaced.

Question (Click to Flip)

What is the functional group of an amine?

Answer

The functional group of an amine is –NH₂ (amino group) for primary amines. This nitrogen-containing group is responsible for the basic character and the properties of amines.

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Key Facts

The compound DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide), used in mosquito repellents, is an amide compound related to amines. Many important medicines, including antihistamines and antidepressants, are amine derivatives.

General Formulas of Amines

TypeGeneral FormulaExample
Primary AmineR–NH₂CH₃NH₂ (Methylamine)
Secondary AmineR₂–NH(CH₃)₂NH (Dimethylamine)
Tertiary AmineR₃–N(CH₃)₃N (Trimethylamine)

R represents an alkyl group (like –CH₃, –C₂H₅).

A Primary Amine has TWO N-H bonds. A Secondary Amine has ONE N-H bond. A Tertiary Amine has ZERO N-H bonds — all three hydrogens of NH₃ are replaced.

Key Properties

  • Amines are basic in nature (they can accept a proton H⁺), similar to ammonia.
  • The boiling points of amines are higher than alkanes of similar molecular mass due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding (except tertiary amines, which cannot form H-bonds with each other).
  • Smell: Lower amines have a fishy smell. The smell of fish is actually due to trimethylamine (a tertiary amine) produced by bacteria decomposing fish.

Questions and Answers

What is the functional group of an amine?+

The functional group of an amine is **–NH₂** (amino group) for primary amines. This nitrogen-containing group is responsible for the basic character and the properties of amines.

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