Aluminium acetate

Aluminium acetate or aluminium ethanoate (also "aluminum ~"), sometimes abbreviated AlAc in geochemistry, can refer to a number of different salts of aluminum with acetic acid.

In the solid state, three salts exist under this name:

1. Neutral aluminium triacetate, Al(CH₃CO₂)₃, which is formally called aluminium acetate under IUPAC rules, with CAS RN 139-12-8
2. Basic aluminium diacetate, HOAl(CH₃CO₂)₂, also known as basic aluminium acetate, and formally named hydroxyaluminium diacetate, with CAS RN 142-03-0
3. Basic aluminium monoacetate, (HO)₂AlCH₃CO₂, also known as dibasic aluminium acetate, and formally named dihydroxyaluminium acetate, with CAS RN 7360-44-3

In aqueous solution, aluminium triacetate hydrolyses to form a mixture of the other two, and all solutions of all three can be referred to as "aluminium acetate" as the species formed co-exist and inter-convert in chemical equilibrium.