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 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.

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