Amide

Amides are two related groups of chemical compounds, both derived from ammonia and amines.

 Organic amides 
In organic chemistry, amides are related to carboxylic acids. Organic amides are also called carboxamides. Other amides can be derived from other oxyacids.

Replacing the hydroxy group  of an acid with an amino group  gives the amide of that acid: for example, acetic acid  becomes acetamide .

One or more of the hydrogens on the amino group can also be replaced with other organic groups. If more than one acyl group is connected to the nitrogen atom, the amide can be called a secondary or tertiary amide. In this sense, "secondary amide" is another name for imide.

 Inorganic amides 
Inorganic amides have inorganic cations bonded to the nitrogen atom of an amine. This bond can be covalent or ionic. The  ion is also referred to as "amide" or "azanide", and is made by deprotonating ammonia with a strong base. This is ammonia acting as an acid, although a very weak one.

Because ammonia is a weak acid, inorganic amides are strong bases. Sodium amide is an example of an inorganic amide.

Related pages
Sodium azide
Azide
Nitrate

References

Category:Nitrogen compounds

Category:Functional groups