Account for the following:
Methylamine in water reacts with ferric chloride to precipitate hydrated ferric oxide.
⇒ The structure of methylamine is CH3NH2
Methylamine is more basic than water due to the presence of CH3 (electron releasing group) and +I effect (pushing electrons). Being more basic, methylamine accepts a proton from water liberating OH- ions.
Dissociation of ferric chloride in water to give Fe3+ and Cl-
FeCl3→ Fe3+ + 3Cl-
Now, the liberated OH- ions combine with Fe3+ ions present in H2O to form brown precipitate of hydrated ferric oxide.