An imine is a functional group or chemical compound containing a
carbon-nitrogen double bond. An imine can be synthesised by the
nucleophilic addition of an amine to a ketone or aldehyde giving a
hemiaminal -C(OH)(NHR)- followed by an elimination of water to
yield the imine. However, the equilibrium in this reaction usually
lies in favor of the free carbonyl compound and amine, so that
azeotrope distillation or use of a dehydrating agent such as
molecular sieves is required to push the reaction in favor of imine
formation. For more details, see the links on the left side of this
column.