Question

Arrange the following compounds in the increasing order of their basic strength in gaseous phase:

\[\ce{C2H5NH2, (C2H5)3N, (C2H5)2NH}\]

Answer 1

The trend of basicity in the gaseous phase depends on the electron-donating property. Therefore, the increasing order is:

Primary < Secondary < Tertiary amine

\[\ce{C2H5NH2 < (C2H5)2NH < (C2H5)3N}\]

This trend takes the relative availability of the nitrogen atom's lone pair of electrons in the gaseous phase into account.