In chemistry, amines (/əˈmiːn, ˈæmiːn/,[1][2] UK also /ˈeɪmiːn/[3]) are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Formally, amines are derivatives of ammonia (NH3), wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such as an alkyl or aryl group[4] (these may respectively be called alkylamines and arylamines; amines in which both types of substituent are attached to one nitrogen atom may be called alkylarylamines). Important amines include amino acids, biogenic amines, trimethylamine, and aniline. Inorganic derivatives of ammonia are also called amines, such as monochloramine (NClH2).[5]
The substituent −NH2 is called an amino group.[6]
The chemical notation for amines contain the letter "R", where "R" is not an element, but a "R-group" which means "rest of the molecule" and in amines could be a single hydrogen or carbon atom, or could be a hydrocarbon chain.
Compounds with a nitrogen atom attached to a carbonyl group, thus having the structure R−C(=O)−NR′R″, are called amides and have different chemical properties from amines.
- ^ "amine". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins.
- ^ "Amine definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "amine – definition of amine in English". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ McMurry, John E. (1992), Organic Chemistry (3rd ed.), Belmont: Wadsworth, ISBN 0-534-16218-5
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Ullmannwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Smith, Janice Gorzynski (2011). "Chapter 25 Amines". Organic chemistry (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. pp. 949–993. ISBN 978-0-07-337562-5. Archived from the original (Book) on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.