Question

What are amines and its classification?

Answer 1

Amines

• Amines are organic compounds that contain nitrogen atoms with a lone pair.
• Basically, they are derived from ammonia $\left({\mathrm{NH}}_3\right)$ in which one or more hydrogen atoms is replaced by an alkyl or aryl group, and so they are known as alkylamines and arylamines respectively.
• Examples of amines are ${\mathrm{CH}}_3-{\mathrm{NH}}_2$,and ${\mathrm{CH}}_3-\mathrm{NH}-{\mathrm{CH}}_3$.

Classification of amines

The number of hydrogen atoms replaced by alkyl or aryl groups in an ammonia molecule determines whether it is categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary amines.

Primary amines

• When one of the ammonia molecule's hydrogen atoms is replaced with an alkyl or aryl group, the formation of primary amines takes place.
• An example of primary amines is methyl amine$\left({\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{NH}}_2\right)$.

Secondary amines

• When two of the ammonia molecule's hydrogen atoms is replaced with an alkyl or aryl group, the formation of secondary amines takes place.
• An example of secondary amines is dimethyl amine${\left({\mathrm{CH}}_3\right)}_2\mathrm{NH}$.

Tertiary amines

• When all the hydrogen of the ammonia molecule is replaced with an alkyl or aryl group, the formation of tertiary amines takes place.
• An example of tertiary amines is trimethyl amine${\left({\mathrm{CH}}_3\right)}_3\mathrm{N}$.