Hexylamine CAS 111-26-2

What is Hexylamine?

Hexylamine is the six-carbon straight-chain primary amine, C₆H₁₃NH₂. It sits at an interesting point in the aliphatic amine series — the place where a simple base starts to become a surface-active molecule.

Below six carbons, an aliphatic amine is fully water-miscible and behaves essentially as a base. Above eight, it is effectively insoluble and behaves as a fatty amine. Hexylamine is in between: slightly soluble in water, miscible with organic solvents, and able to adsorb at an interface while still having meaningful aqueous presence. A great deal of its commercial value comes from occupying that middle ground.

It is a clear, colourless to pale-yellow liquid boiling at about 131 °C, with a strong fishy, ammoniacal odour. The flash point sits near 29 °C, so it is flammable but with no flammable headspace at ordinary room temperature — a far more comfortable handling class than the butylamines and below.

Commercially, hexylamine is a specialty intermediate. Its main outlets are corrosion inhibitors, mineral flotation collectors and surfactant intermediates, with further use in rubber chemicals, fuel additives, agrochemical and pharmaceutical intermediates and anti-caking treatments for fertiliser.

Why hexylamine specifically

• The crossover chain length. Six carbons gives enough hydrophobic tail to adsorb at an interface while retaining some water solubility — a combination neither the shorter nor the longer amines offer.
• Two reactive N-H bonds. It forms amides, imines, ureas and dithiocarbamates that still carry a free N-H for further substitution, unlike the dialkylamines.
• Good flotation selectivity. The C6 tail gives useful selectivity in oxide and silicate flotation circuits, where longer chains can over-collect.
• Manageable handling. With a 131 °C boiling point and a flash point near 29 °C there is no pressure build-up and no flammable headspace at ambient — unlike every amine below it in the series.

How HA is Manufactured

Hexylamine is made by aminating hexanol or by reductive amination of hexanal, and in some plants by ammonolysis of a hexyl halide. All routes produce the di- and trihexylamines alongside the mono product.

• Amination or reductive amination. n-Hexanol or hexanal is reacted with ammonia and hydrogen over a supported metal catalyst at elevated temperature and pressure, giving an equilibrium mixture of mono-, di- and trihexylamine.
• Ratio control. A high ammonia-to-substrate ratio suppresses further alkylation and pushes the distribution toward the mono amine. Surplus dihexylamine is recycled or taken off as a co-product.
• Separation. The crude mixture is resolved by fractional distillation with ammonia recovery. The higher boiling points mean distillation runs under reduced pressure in many plants, which protects colour.
• Finishing. The mono cut is taken to specification and filled into drums or IBCs, with nitrogen blanketing where colour matters — the medium-chain amines discolour on air exposure more visibly than the lighter ones.

Typical Commercial Specification

Figures below are representative of standard commercial grade. Tighter flotation and fine chemical grades with lower colour and secondary amine are available — send us the specification you work to and we will quote against it.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Reactivity in practice

The chemistry runs through the nitrogen lone pair and the two replaceable N-H hydrogens, with the C6 tail carried into every derivative:

• Dithiocarbamate and xanthate chemistry. With carbon disulphide it gives dithiocarbamates used as flotation collectors and as rubber accelerators, where the C6 tail sets the adsorption behaviour.
• Amide and imide formation. Reaction with acid chlorides, anhydrides and dibasic acids gives hexylamides and imides used in corrosion inhibitors and lubricant additives.
• Ethoxylation and alkoxylation. Reaction with ethylene or propylene oxide gives amine ethoxylates — nonionic surfactants and antistatic agents with a hexyl hydrophobe.
• Salt formation and quaternisation. Forms salts with acids for anti-caking and flotation duty, and quaternises to cationic surfactants and biocides.

Hexylamine in the Straight-Chain Amine Series

Straight-chain primary amines form a continuous series, and moving up it changes behaviour predictably: the boiling point rises, water solubility falls away, the flash point climbs out of the flammable range, and the molecule starts to behave less like a base and more like a surfactant. Choosing between them is almost always a question of where on that curve your application sits.

Stated plainly: below about six carbons an aliphatic amine is a base that happens to have a tail; above about eight it is a surfactant that happens to have an amine group. Hexylamine sits on the boundary, which is exactly why it turns up where a formulator needs some water compatibility and some oil compatibility at once. Substituting across this series changes partitioning, foaming, adsorption and volatility all at the same time, so it is never a like-for-like swap.

Industries We Supply HA To

The same molecule leaves our warehouse for very different factories. What changes between them is not the CAS number but the grade, particularly chain distribution and colour, and the documentation each sector expects.

Where HA is Used

Hexylamine is a specialty intermediate chosen for where its chain length sits. These are the end uses our customers buy it for, roughly in order of volume.

In corrosion inhibition

A film-forming inhibitor has to do two things at once: dissolve well enough in the carrier to be dosed, and adsorb strongly enough at the metal surface to stay there. Chain length is the lever that balances the two. Hexylamine derivatives sit where the molecule still has some water compatibility but enough tail to anchor — useful in systems with both phases present, which describes most oilfield and refinery service. Blenders care about consistency and chain distribution far more than about the last tenth of a percent of assay.

In mineral flotation

Amine collectors work by adsorbing onto a mineral surface and making it hydrophobic enough to attach to an air bubble. Too short a tail and the collector does not render the surface hydrophobic; too long and it collects everything, including the gangue. Hexylamine and its salts occupy a useful selectivity window in oxide, silicate and potash circuits. Because a flotation plant is tuned to a particular reagent behaviour, batch-to-batch consistency of the chain distribution matters more here than absolute purity.

In surfactant chemistry

Ethoxylation gives nonionic surfactants with a hexyl hydrophobe, and quaternisation gives cationic actives. The C6 tail produces a low-foaming, fast-wetting profile rather than the high-foaming behaviour of the longer fatty amines, which suits industrial cleaning and process aid applications. Colour is a live specification, since an off-colour amine carries straight into the finished surfactant.

In fertiliser anti-caking

Prilled and granular fertilisers cake in storage as moisture migrates and crystals bridge between particles. Amine salts applied as a surface coating interrupt that bridging. Hexylamine derivatives are used in these coating packages, where the requirement is a thin, persistent, hydrophobic film rather than any bulk chemical effect.

Quality Control & Testing

Every lot is released against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis. The methods behind the numbers are standard across the industry, and we are happy to share them or to work to your own in-house test protocol.

• Assay and chain distribution — gas chromatography, which quantifies mono-, di- and trihexylamine and the adjacent chain lengths. For surfactant and flotation work this profile matters more than assay alone.
• Colour — APHA / Hazen against a standard. The medium-chain amines discolour on air exposure more visibly than the lighter ones, and the colour carries into finished formulations.
• Water content — Karl Fischer titration, which matters in acid-chloride and isocyanate chemistry.
• Amine value / titration — total and primary amine value by titration, the figure formulators usually work from.
• Distillation range — a fast, revealing check for adjacent chain lengths and moisture.
• Metals and residue — iron and evaporation residue, both of which matter in flotation and lubricant service.

Common Process Problems & Likely Causes

When hexylamine misbehaves in a plant, the cause is usually one of a short list of things. This table is the shortcut our technical desk works through before anyone opens a complaint file.

Packaging, Storage & Shipping

• Standard packing. 170 kg net in lined steel or HDPE drums, with 1000 L IBCs for larger users.
• Bulk packing. Road tankers and ISO tank containers arranged where volumes justify them.
• Inert blanketing. Nitrogen-blanketed at fill where colour matters. The medium-chain amines yellow on air exposure more visibly than the lighter ones.
• Storage. Cool, dry, well-ventilated and bunded area away from heat, ignition sources, oxidisers and acids, with containers kept tightly closed.
• Materials of construction. Stainless steel, carbon steel or suitable lined vessels. Avoid copper, brass, bronze, aluminium and mercury, all of which are attacked by amines.
• Shelf life. Typically 12 months in unopened original packing under those conditions. Beyond that, re-test rather than assume.
• Easier handling class. With a boiling point near 131 °C and a flash point near 29 °C there is no pressure build-up and no flammable headspace at ordinary room temperature — considerably more comfortable than the butylamines, though still a flammable corrosive.
• Transport classification. Typically shipped under UN 2733, Amines, flammable, corrosive, n.o.s., Class 3 with subsidiary risk 8. Because this is a generic entry, confirm the entry and packing group against the current SDS and the shipper's declaration for your destination and mode.
• Container loading. Palletised and secured for FCL; LCL consolidation available by volume.

Hazards & Safe Handling

Hexylamine is corrosive and flammable, and must be handled by trained personnel under a proper risk assessment. The classifications below are indicative — the current SDS supplied with your consignment is the governing document.

• Exposure control. Handle under local exhaust ventilation or in a closed system. Vapour pressure is modest at ambient, so skin and eye contact rather than inhalation is the dominant exposure route.
• PPE. Chemical-resistant gloves, chemical goggles and face shield, chemical-resistant clothing, and respiratory protection where the material is handled warm or sprayed.
• Ignition control. The flash point is near 29 °C, so a warm process area or a heated transfer line can put the headspace into the flammable range. Keep away from heat and ignition sources and classify the zone accordingly.
• Incompatibilities. Strong oxidising agents, strong acids, acid chlorides, nitrites, mercury, and copper, brass, bronze and aluminium equipment.
• Spill response. Contain, absorb with inert non-combustible material and collect in a labelled closed container. Ventilate. Do not wash to drain.
• Environment. Harmful to aquatic life. Do not allow to enter drains, surface water or groundwater. Dispose through a licensed chemical waste contractor.
• Fire. Use alcohol-resistant foam, dry chemical or carbon dioxide; cool exposed containers with water spray. Decomposition releases nitrogen oxides — use self-contained breathing apparatus.
• First aid. Remove contaminated clothing immediately, wash skin with plenty of water, flush eyes for at least 15 minutes, move to fresh air, and seek medical attention with the SDS to hand.

Regulatory & Compliance Notes

Hexylamine is an established industrial chemical and is listed on the major national chemical inventories. Because obligations differ by territory, volume and use, the notes below are orientation rather than legal advice — confirm your own position with your regulatory adviser before importing.

• Inventory status. Listed on the principal chemical inventories in the major importing regions. Ask us for the inventory confirmation relevant to your destination country.
• Import registration. Several territories require the importer to hold a registration or notification before a consignment lands. Start that process early — it is the most common cause of delay at destination.
• Hazard communication. Supplied with an SDS compliant with the format applicable to your region, and labelled in line with the GHS classification for the product.
• Dangerous goods. Typically UN 2733, Amines, flammable, corrosive, n.o.s., Class 3 with subsidiary risk 8. Because this is a generic entry, confirm the classification and packing group against the current SDS; declarations prepared for IMDG (sea) or IATA (air) as appropriate.
• Environmental classification. Classified as harmful to aquatic life in most systems. Effluent containing hexylamine must be treated or consigned to licensed disposal, never discharged.
• Workplace exposure. Occupational exposure limits apply in several jurisdictions. Set your controls against the limit in force where the material will be handled, and note that dermal exposure is often the governing route.

We Supply HA Worldwide

Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and export partner, not a single-plant trader. We ship Hexylamine from India to customers across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America, handling the export documentation, dangerous-goods paperwork and freight so the material arrives ready to use.

• Incoterms. EXW, FOB, CIF, CFR and DAP quoted to suit your purchasing terms and freight arrangements.
• Ports. Regular shipments through Nhava Sheva (JNPT) and Mundra, with other Indian ports arranged where it suits the routing.
• Documentation. Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, COA, SDS and dangerous-goods declaration issued as a complete set.
• Flexible volumes. A single drum for laboratory qualification, through LCL consolidations, up to repeat full loads on a supply contract.
• Supply continuity. Because we are independent of any one producer, a plant turnaround or a shipping disruption at one source does not have to become your stock-out.

Buying HA from Chelora

We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For hexylamine that means paying attention to the chain distribution rather than the assay alone, because in flotation and surfactant chemistry the distribution is what the application actually responds to.

• Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA, current SDS and TDS issued with the consignment, not weeks afterward.
• Samples before commitment. Trial quantities for process qualification ahead of a commercial order.
• Quantities. From a single 170 kg drum through to IBC and tank quantities on contract supply.
• Export experience. Dangerous-goods documentation, packing and labelling handled for sea and road freight to any destination.
• Technical support. Direct access to people who know the chemistry, for questions on chain distribution, colour control or materials compatibility.
• Related intermediates. n-Butylamine, octylamine, dodecylamine, di-n-butylamine and the wider aliphatic amine range from one supplier.

How ordering works

• Send the enquiry. Product, grade or specification, quantity, destination port and the Incoterm you buy on. If you have a spec sheet, attach it — it saves a round trip.
• We quote. Price, lead time, packing and a sample COA, normally within one working day.
• Sample and qualify. For first orders or critical applications, we send a trial quantity so your lab can sign off before you commit.
• Confirm the order. Proforma invoice issued; payment terms agreed against the volume and the relationship.
• Production and QC. Material allocated and released against a batch-specific COA, with a pre-shipment sample where the application calls for it.
• Ship and document. Packed, labelled and loaded with the full export and dangerous-goods document set, and tracked through to arrival.

Related Amines & Intermediates

Buyers of hexylamine usually source several of these alongside it. Consolidating them on one order cuts freight cost and gives you a single point of contact for documentation.