Is Sodium acetate an acid or a base salt?

Sodium acetate (CH3COONa) is in some cases a basic salt. CH3COONa is produced by the reaction of acetic acid with sodium hydroxide and it is the salt of the acetate ion. According to Lowry -Bronsted acid base theory, an acid is a substance that tends to give protons to any other substance, while a base is defined as a substance that tends to receive protons from other substances. Acids and bases interact to produce an ionic compound known as a salt. Whereas acetic acid has a dissociation constant equal to 1.8 × 10^-5 and is a weak acid, sodium hydroxide is a strong base. Acids have conjugate bases. The weak base acetic acid loses its proton to form the conjugate base acetate ion. This is a stronger base. It is a conjugate base of a weak acid. It is a stronger base. Hence, we can say that sodium acetate is a basic salt.

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