Is Potassium formate an acid or a base?

Potassium formate (HCOOK) is basic. HCOOK is a salt formed from a strong base (KOH) and a weak acid (formic acid). Potassium formate is a monocarboxylic anion, a conjugate base of formic acid. Therefore, the pH of the HCOOK solution will be greater than 7 (basic).

The reason for this is as follows:

HCOOK will hydrolyse in water: HCOOK + H2O → HCOOH + KOH

Put another way, HCOO- + H2O → HCOOH + OH- (HCOO- is the conjugate base of HCOOH)

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