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An 'acetate', or 'ethanoate', is a salt or ester of acetic acid.

Contents

Acetate anion

Acetate esters

Notation in organic chemistry

Structures

See also

Acetate anion

The 'acetate' anion, [C₂H₃O₂]⁻, is a carboxylate and is the conjugate base of acetic acid. The acetate ion is formed by the deprotonation of acetic acid:
:CH₃COOH CH₃COO⁻ + H⁺

Acetate esters

An 'acetate ester' is an ester of acetic acid, with the general formula C₂H₃O₂R, where R is an organyl group.
'Acetate' can also refer to cellulose acetate, especially fibres or other derived products such as the acetate disc used in audio record production. Cellulose acetate can be found in many household products.

Notation in organic chemistry

In the field of organic chemistry the abbreviation ''Ac'' refers to the acetyl group. Hence, acetate can be written '⁻OAc' or 'AcO⁻' and acetic acid, sodium acetate, and ethyl acetate can be denoted by HOAc, NaOAc, and EtOAc respectively.
Ac is also the symbol for the chemical element actinium, but confusion between actinium and the acetyl group is rare, since actinium has virtually no role in organic chemistry.

Structures

See also

★ Acetylation

★ Cellulose acetate