Question
Explain the basic nature of amines with a suitable example.

Answer

The basic nature of amines is due to the presence of a lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom.
i. Lewis theory: In terms of Lewis theory, amines are bases because they can share a lone pair of electrons on ‘N’ atom with an electron-deficient species.
For example, trimethylamine shares its lone pair of electrons with the electron-deficient boron trifluoride. $>Me_3N: + BF_3 \rightarrow Me_3N^+– B^-F_3 >$

ii. Lowry-Bronsted theory: The basic nature of amines is explained by writing the following equilibrium. >>a.In this equilibrium amine accepts $H^+$, hence an amine is a LowryBronsted base. >b. For a stronger base, this equilibrium shifts towards the right, thereby, for stronger bases, the $K_b​​​​​​​$​​​​​​​ value is larger or the $pK_b​​​​​​​$​​​​​​​ value is smaller.

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