Nick Cristinziano Cristinziano 1

Mr. Webb
Honors Chemistry
20 February 2014
Sodium Acetate (NaC2H3O2)
NaC2H3O2, also known as Sodium acetate, has no known origin. Although this may be
true, it certainly does have several known uses.
Sodium acetate is used as a seasoning in many different foods. For example, salt and
vinegar chips, salad dressings, mustards, creamers, cheeses, and meats often contain this
chemical. Because it is the salt form of acetic acid, it tends to work wonders when combined
with acidic foods and seasonings. Of course, meat isnt exactly combined with this chemical for
flavorful purposes. It is actually used in meats to increase preservation.
Although Sodium acetate is widely used in food production, it also has a few other
common uses. According to inrfood, it is also used in the vulcanization of chloroprene in
order to produce synthetic rubber. Not only is this sodium used to make rubber, it is also a
pickling agent in chromium tanning for leathers. NaC2H3O2 also neutralizes sulfuric acid, which
is why it is used in waste streams produced by textile industries. Because Sodium acetate has an
exothermic reaction, it is placed in hand warmers and heating pads due to the heat it gives off.
Inrfood also states that Sodium acetate has been used in folk medicines for a
long time. When the acetic acid in sodium acetate is diluted, it can be used in medicinal
eardrops as well as a way to reduce and control high blood pressure. Head lice can also be quite
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tenacious, which is why Sodium acetate based medicines can be so helpful to get rid of them.
Sodium acetate can also cure problems such as nail funguses and many other bacterial infections.
Although sodium acetate isnt a lethal substance, when working with it the proper
precautions should still be taken in order to insure your safety. Firstly, according to sciencelab,
a booklet on Sodium acetate, you should check to see if you or your peers are wearing contact
lenses. If so, remove them and put on your glasses under a pair of safety goggles to ensure the
protection of your eyes. If contact to the eyes does occur, be sure to flush them with plenty of
water for at least fifteen minutes. Additionally, sciencelab goes on to state that you should
avoid contact of the skin due to the possibility of skin irritation. If irritation of the skin does
occur, you should get medical attention. If these few precautions are followed, you should be
able to experiment with Sodium acetate in its natural state.
As stated earlier, Sodium acetate is the sodium salt form of acetic acid. Its physical state
is solid, in a granular crystalline powder according to sciencelab. It has a slight odor of acetic
acid, and its color is generally clear and colorless. Sodium acetate has a melting point of 324
degrees Celsius (615 degrees Fahrenheit) and has a molecular weight of 82.03 g/mole. Sodium
acetates pH is 11, which is very stable. This chemical is also very soluble in water whether its
hot or cold. Sodium acetate tends to react with most oxidizing agents, also known as acids. If the
chemical is put into water, it immediately dissolves and separates itself into sodium ions and
acetate ions. Sodium acetate contains both ionic bonds and covalent bonds, where the sodium
forms an ionic bond as a cation. This leaves the acetic ions to form covalent bonds.

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Sodium acetate is a stable and also very weak acidic sodium, but it certainly does have its
uses. This relatively safe chemical is great for small experiments when trying to produce crystals
and for the many other industries using it for production purposes.


Nick Cristinziano
Mr. Webb
Honors Chemistry
20 February 2014
Works cited page:
Aaronson, Lauren. "Safer, Tastier Construction." Popular Science Nov. 2007: 32. Student
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S&sw=w&asid=2b0f41b7d1b7eb461f32da383e212105>
Leon, . "Use of sodium acetate to replace sodium bicarbonate in times of shortage."
thepoisonreview. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.thepoisonreview.com/?s=sodium+acetate>.
"Material Safety Data Sheet." Sodium acetate anhydrous MSDS 1 (N.p.): n.pag. sciencelab. Web.
20 Feb. 2014. <http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924952>.
"Material Safety Data Sheet." Sodium acetate 1 (N.p.): n.pag. atmos.umd. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~russ/MSDS/sodium_acetate.htm>.
"Sodium acetate." inrfood. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. <http://inrfood.com/ingredients/4001>.