Question

Why is amine more basic than alcohol?

Answer 1

Amine:

• An amine is a functional group that has a lone pair on a nitrogen atom.
• Amines are similar in structure to ammonia in that nitrogen can link up to three hydrogen atoms.
• It also has a number of features that are related to carbon linkage.

Structure of Amine:

• Amines structurally mimic ammonia, where nitrogen can link with up to three hydrogen atoms. It is also defined by a number of carbon connectivity-based features. Amides are nitrogen compounds with a carbonyl group attached; they have the chemical formula $R-CO-NR\text{'}R"$′ and exhibit different features from amines.

Alcohol:

• Any member of the class of chemical compounds known as alcohols, which have one or more hydroxyl $(-OH)$ groups linked to an alkyl group's carbon atom (hydrocarbon chain).

Structure of Alcohol:

• The presence of the hydroxyl group is primarily responsible for the structure of alcohol. A sigma $\left(\sigma \right)$ bond connects the main chain carbon atom of alcohols to the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl group.
• An $s{p}^3$ hybridised orbital of carbon and an $s{p}^3$ hybridised orbital of oxygen overlap, resulting in the formation of this sigma bond.
• The bond angle of $C-O-H$ bonds in alcohols is somewhat smaller than the tetrahedral angle because of the attraction between the oxygen's unshared electron pairs.

Reason for Amine more Basic than Alcohol:

• Because amino acids are less electronegative than alcohols, they are more basic.
• In aqueous solutions, alcohols break down to give H⁺ ions, whereas amines do not dissociate and have a tendency to donate electrons.
• As a result, amines are more basic than alcohol.