Triethylamine is a base, and amines are organic chemistry functional groups with basic nitrogen, a lone pair, and various substituents attached to them.
The parent molecule ammonia is the source of all amines, which can be simply stated as such.
To form alkyl amines, three hydrogen atoms in the parent molecule are exchanged for alkyl groups.
Triethylamine, an aliphatic amine with three methyl groups attached to the amine functional group, is one of two types of amines: aliphatic and aromatic.
So, based on the structure of the molecule, we can infer that the nitrogen atom, which has a pair of electrons, is attached to three methyl groups.
And this lone pair of electrons in N can form bonds with other atoms, acting as a donor atom and converting the molecule to the parent.
Because of this triethylamine is a basic chemical.
We know that as the +I effect increases, so does the basicity of the molecule.
Although the linked ethyl group is a +I group and thus would be basic by nature, the steric hindrance makes it less basic than other primary and secondary amines.
When compared to simple alkyl amines, the three linked methyl groups make it more difficult for other atoms to access the N lone pair, making it less basic.
