Acetate

Acetate
Ball-and-stick model of the acetate anion
Names
IUPAC name
Acetate
Systematic IUPAC name
Ethanoate
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C2H4O2/c1-2(3)4/h1H3,(H,3,4)/p-1
    Key: QTBSBXVTEAMEQO-UHFFFAOYSA-M
  • InChI=1/C2H4O2/c1-2(3)4/h1H3,(H,3,4)/p-1
    Key: QTBSBXVTEAMEQO-REWHXWOFAL
  • CC(=O)[O-]
Properties
C
2
H
3
O
2
Conjugate acid Acetic acid
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called an anion) typically found in aqueous solution and written with the chemical formula C
2
H
3
O
2
. The neutral molecules formed by the combination of the acetate ion and a positive ion (called a cation) are also commonly called "acetates" (hence, acetate of lead, acetate of aluminium, etc.). The simplest of these is hydrogen acetate (called acetic acid) with corresponding salts, esters, and the polyatomic anion CH
3
CO
2
, or CH
3
COO
.

Most of the approximately 5 million tonnes of acetic acid produced annually in industry are used in the production of acetates, which usually take the form of polymers. In nature, acetate is the most common building block for biosynthesis.