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🧪 Chemistry  ·  Amines  ·  NEET & JEE

Which compound is used to test for primary amines using the carbylamine reaction?

Answer: Chloroform and KOH.

  • A Chloroform and KOH
  • B NaOH mainly as widely reported
  • C HCl mainly in standard practice
  • D Br<sub>2</sub> water under most conditions encountered

Correct answer: A. Chloroform and KOH

Explanation: The carbylamine reaction uses chloroform and alcoholic KOH; primary amines give foul-smelling isocyanides.

Why Aniline Is a Weaker Base Than MethylamineNCH₃lone pair fully availableMethylamineN donates electrons freely → STRONG baseNlone pair delocalised into ringAniline

In aniline, the nitrogen's lone pair is pulled into the benzene ring through resonance, leaving less electron density available to accept a proton - which is why aniline is a much weaker base than methylamine, where the lone pair is fully available.

Concept context

Nitrogen-containing organic compounds. Covers classification (primary, secondary, tertiary), basicity comparison, preparation methods, and reactions including diazotization and coupling, key for understanding dyes and pharmaceuticals.

Read the full Amines notes →