Ethylamine

Ethylamine is an organic compound with the formula CH3CH2NH2. This colourless gas has a strong ammonia-like odor. It is miscible with virtually all solvents. It is a nucleophilic base, as is typical for amines. Ethylamine is widely used in chemical industry and organic synthesis. Ethylamine is an organic compound with the formula CH3CH2NH2. This colourless gas has a strong ammonia-like odor. It is miscible with virtually all solvents. It is a nucleophilic base, as is typical for amines. Ethylamine is widely used in chemical industry and organic synthesis. Ethylamine is produced on a large scale by two processes. Most commonly ethanol and ammonia are combined in the presence of an oxide catalyst: In this reaction, ethylamine is coproduced together with diethylamine and triethylamine. In aggregate, approximately 80M kilograms/year of these three amines are produced industrially.It is also produced by reductive amination of acetaldehyde. Ethylamine can be prepared by several other routes, but these are not economical. Ethylene and ammonia combine to give ethylamine in the presence of a sodium amide or related basic catalysts. Hydrogenation of acetonitrile, acetamide, and nitroethane affords ethylamine. These reactions can be effected stoichiometrically using lithium aluminium hydride. In another route, ethylamine can be synthesized via nucleophilic substitution of a haloethane (such as chloroethane or bromoethane) with ammonia, utilizing a strong base such as potassium hydroxide. This method affords significant amounts of byproducts, including diethylamine and triethylamine. Ethylamine is also produced naturally in the cosmos; it is a component of interstellar gases. Like other simple aliphatic amines, ethylamine is a weak base: the pKa of + has been determined to be 10.8 Ethylamine undergoes the reactions anticipated for a primary alkyl amine, such as acylation and protonation. Reaction with sulfuryl chloride followed by oxidation of the sulfonamide give diethyldiazene, EtN=NEt. Ethylamine may be oxidized using a strong oxidizer such as potassium permanganate to form acetaldehyde. Ethylamine like some other small primary amines is a good solvent for lithium metal, giving the ion + and the solvated electron. Such solutions are used for the reduction of unsaturated organic compounds, such as naphthalenes and alkynes.