Sodium acetate, (also rarely, sodium ethanoate) is the sodium salt of acetic acid. It is an inexpensive chemical produced in industrial quantities for a wide range of uses.

Sodium Acetate, sodium salt of acetic acid, is a white or colourless crystalline compound, prepared by the reaction of acetic acid with sodium carbonate or with sodium hydroxide. There are commercially anhydrous salt or trihydrate form losing water at 58 C. Both are soluble in water and in ethoxyethane, and slightly soluble in ethanol.

Preparation

Sodium acetate is inexpensive, and is usually purchased from chemical suppliers, instead of being synthesized in the laboratory. It is sometimes produced in a laboratory experiment by the reaction of acetic acid with sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or sodium hydroxide to name a few bases which contain sodium.

CH₃–COOH + Na⁺[HCO₃]^– → CH₃–COO^– Na⁺ + H₂O + CO₂

This is the well-known "fizzing" reaction between baking soda and vinegar. 84 grams of sodium bicarbonate react with 750 g of 8% vinegar to make 82 g sodium acetate in water. By subsequently boiling off most of the water, one can refine either a concentrated solution of sodium acetate or actual crystals.

Sodium acetate can be used to form an ester with an alkyl halide such as bromoethane:

H₃C–COO^– Na⁺ + Br–CH₂–CH₃ → H₃C–COO–CH₂–CH₃ + NaBr