Home

Methylamine

Methylamine (CH3NH2) is the simplest primary amine. It is a colorless gas at room temperature with a strong, fishy odor and is highly soluble in water and many organic solvents. In practice it is often encountered as an aqueous solution or as the methylamine hydrochloride salt. The free base has a conjugate acid pKa around 10.6, reflecting its basic character (pKb about 3.4).

Industrial production of methylamine is achieved primarily by catalytic methylation of ammonia with methanol, which yields

Applications of methylamine are broad in organic synthesis. It serves as a building block for pharmaceuticals,

mixtures
of
mono-,
di-,
and
trimethylamines
that
are
subsequently
separated.
The
mono
methylamine
is
isolated
as
a
gas
or
as
a
solution.
Alternative
routes
include
reductive
amination
or
the
dehydration
of
formamide
under
catalytic
conditions.
The
product
is
typically
supplied
as
an
aqueous
solution
or
as
methylamine
hydrochloride.
agrochemicals,
dyes,
and
specialty
polymers.
It
is
used
to
introduce
the
methylamino
group
in
various
compounds
and
to
prepare
N-methylated
amines
and
related
products.
Safety
and
handling
considerations
are
important:
methylamine
is
flammable
and
toxic
by
inhalation,
and
it
is
a
strong
irritant
to
skin
and
eyes.
It
can
react
with
carbon
dioxide
to
form
methylammonium
carbamate,
and
storage
and
transport
require
appropriate
engineering
controls.
Due
to
its
potential
use
as
a
drug
precursor,
the
sale
and
distribution
of
methylamine
are
regulated
in
many
jurisdictions.