
Some amines have a chiral, or mirror, structure. C-C bonds have slightly longer bond distances than C-N bonds. CNH and CNC bonds are said to be close to the idealized angle for tetrahedral bonds, the angle 109°. Amines belonging to the alkyl group typically have tetrahedral nitrogen centers, meaning that there are bonds between nitrogen and atoms like carbon or hydrogen, with the nitrogen in the center. In terms of the structure of amines, amines can have several different structures. An organic compound with two amino groups is referred to as a diamine, three amino groups make a triamine, four amino groups a tetramine, and so on. Organic compounds having different numbers of amino groups will be named differently to reflect this. If an “N-” is appended to the amine, it means that there is a substitution at the nitrogen atom. An amine will be given either the suffix “-amine” or the prefix “amino”. Photo: By Kes47 (?) – File:Primary-amine-2D-general.png, Public Domain, Īmines follow a specific naming structure. A fourth type of amine, cyclic amines, can be formed if the connectivity between substituents linked to the nitrogens is just right.Īn example of the structure of a primary amine. Much like pure ammonia, amines easily coordinate with protons thanks to the presence of an unshared electron pair, and as such, they are considered weak bases. Primary amines are formed when one hydrogen is a place, secondary amines are formed when two hydrogens are placed, and tertiary amines are formed when all three hydrogens are replaced. The H3 in NH3 means that there are three hydrogens in the molecule, and when at least one of these hydrogens is replaced by an aryl or alkyl group, an amine is formed. An organic compound that is comprised of an amino group and other atoms is referred to as an amine.Īmines are derived from ammonia, chemical formula NH3.

Functional groups which contain a nitrogen atom linked by single bonds to alkyl groups, aryl groups, hydrogen groups, or some combination of these groups are called amino groups. In chemistry, a functional group is a group of atoms which are responsible for certain reactions that the molecule may undergo, as well as specific properties of that molecule. An examination of the composition of amino groups, and the way they form structures such as amino acids, will help make amino groups clearer. If an amino group is attached to an organic compound (compounds containing carbon) it is referred to as an amine. Amino groups are single functional groups comprised of a nitrogen atom linked to hydrogen atoms, aryl groups, alkyl groups or some combination of those structures.
