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Chemistry LibreTexts

12.11: Amines - Structures and Names

  • Page ID
    444351
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     Learning Objectives
    • Describe the general structure for an amine.
    • Determine whether a compound is an amine from a molecular structure and a name.

    Amines are classified according to the number of carbon atoms bonded directly to the nitrogen atom. A primary (1°) amine has one alkyl (or aryl) group on the nitrogen atom, a secondary (2°) amine has two, and a tertiary (3°) amine has three (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)).

    15.5.jpg
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Structure of Amines Compared to Water, an Alcohol, and an Ether

    To classify alcohols, we look at the number of carbon atoms bonded to the carbon atom bearing the OH group, not the oxygen atom itself. Thus, although isopropylamine looks similar to isopropyl alcohol, the former is a primary amine, while the latter is a secondary alcohol.

    classifying alcohols.jpg

    The common names for simple aliphatic amines consist of an alphabetic list of alkyl groups attached to the nitrogen atom, followed by the suffix -amine. (Systematic names are often used by some chemists.) The amino group (NH2) is named as a substituent in more complicated amines, such as those that incorporate other functional groups or in which the alkyl groups cannot be simply named.

    Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Which of the following compounds is an amine?

    1. CH3CH2CH2NH2
    2. CH3CH2CH2OH
    3. Ex 9 2.jpg
    4. CH3CHCOOCH2CH3
    5. CH3CH2CH2NHCH3

    This page titled 12.11: Amines - Structures and Names is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jane Montgomery via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.