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Methylamine
IUPAC name	aminomethane
Other names	monomethylamine MMA
Identifiers
CAS number	74-89-5
RTECS number	PF6300000
SMILES	CN
Properties
Molecular formula	CH5N
Molar mass	31.1 g/mol
Appearance	Colorless Gas
Density	d40.699 (−10.8 °C) / 0.902 g/cm³, 40w/w% in water
Melting point	−94 °C (179.15 K)
Boiling point	−6 °C (267.2 K)
Solubility in water	108 g/100 mL (20 °C)
Acidity (pKa)	10.64 (value for protonated amine, pKaH)
Basicity (pKb)	3.36
Viscosity	0.23 cP at 0 °C
Structure
Molecular shape	tetrahedral
Dipole moment	1.31 D (gas)
Hazards
MSDS	From EMD Chemicals [1]
Main hazards	Corrosive liquid and gas, inhalation hazard, flammable.
NFPA 704	4 3 0
R-phrases	11-36/37 (40% solution in water)
Flash point	8 °C
Related compounds
Related ?	Ammonia dimethylamine trimethylamine
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox references

Methylamine is the chemical compound with a formula of CH₃NH₂. It is a derivative of ammonia, wherein one H atom is replaced by a methyl group. It is the simplest primary amine. It is usually sold as solutions in methanol (2M), ethanol (8M), THF (2M), and water (40%), or as the anhydrous gas in pressurized metal containers. It has a strong odour similar to rotten fish. Methylamine is used as a building block for the synthesis of other organic compounds, including many illicit drugs; in the United States, the DEA lists methylamine as a precursor, and purchases of any significant quantity are likely to arouse law enforcement attention.

Chemistry

Methylamine is a good nucleophile as it is highly basic and unhindered. Its use in organic chemistry is pervasive.

The hydrochloride salt of methylamine, methylammonium chloride, CH₃NH₃Cl, is a colourless powder that can be converted to the amine.

Although methylamine is a gas at room temperature, liquid methylamine can be used as a solvent analogous to liquid ammonia. It shares some of the properties of liquid ammonia, but is better for dissolving organic substances, in the same way that methanol is better than water.¹

Production

Methylamine is prepared commercially by the reaction of ammonia with methanol with zeolite as catalyst.²

CH₃OH + NH₃ → CH₃NH₂ + H₂O

It can also be readily prepared as the hydrochloride by the reaction of hydrochloric acid with hexamine or by the reaction of formaldehyde with ammonium chloride.³

NH₄Cl + H₂CO → CH₂=NH·HCl + H₂O

CH₂=NH·HCl + H₂CO + H₂O → CH₃NH₂·HCl + HCOOH

Methylamine serves as a buffering agent in the lumen of the chloroplast in plants, effectively siphoning off protons that are heading for ATP synthase.^{citation needed}

References

1. ^ H. D. Gibbs (1906). "Liquid methylamine as a solvent, and a study of its chemical reactivity". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 28: 1395–1422. doi:10.1021/ja01976a009. 
2. ^ Corbin D.R.; Schwarz S.; Sonnichsen G.C. (1997). "Methylamines synthesis: A review". Catalysis Today 37 (2): 71–102. doi:10.1016/S0920-5861(97)00003-5. 
3. ^ Marvel, C. S.; Jenkins, R. L. (1941). "Methylamine Hydrochloride". Org. Synth.; Coll. Vol. 1: 347. 

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• This page was last modified on 27 September 2008, at 23:32.

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