
Zinc acetate

Zinc acetate is a salt with the formula Zn(CH3CO2)2, which commonly occurs as the dihydrate Zn(CH3CO2)2·2H2O. Both the hydrate and the anhydrous forms are colorless solids that are commonly used in chemical synthesis and as dietary supplements. Zinc acetates are prepared by the action of acetic acid on zinc carbonate or zinc metal. When used as a food additive, it has the E number E650.
Uses.
Dietary and medicinal applications.
Zinc acetate has been used in lozenges for treating the common cold. Zinc acetate can also be used to treat zinc deficiencies. As an oral daily supplement it is used to inhibit the body's absorption of copper as part of the treatment for Wilson's disease. Zinc acetate is also sold as an astringent in the form of an ointment, a topical lotion, or combined with an antibiotic such as erythromycin for the topical treatment of acne. It is commonly sold as a topical anti-itch ointment.
Industrial applications.
Industrial applications include wood preservation, manufacturing other zinc salts, polymers, manufacture of ethyl acetate, as a dye mordant, and analytical reagent. It is used in commercial nuclear power plants as a plating inhibitor on primary water piping.
Basic properties and structures.
In anhydrous zinc acetate the zinc is coordinated to four oxygen atoms to give a tetrahedral environment, these tetrahedral polyhedra are then interconnected by acetate ligands to give a range of polymeric structures.
In zinc acetate dihydrate the zinc is octahedral, wherein both acetate groups are bidentate.
Basic zinc acetate.
Heating Zn(CH3CO2)2 in a vacuum results in a loss of acetic anhydride, leaving a residue of basic zinc acetate, with the formula Zn4O(CH3CO2)6. This cluster compound has the tetrahedral structure shown below. This species closely resembles the corresponding beryllium compound, although it is slightly expanded with Zn-O distances ~1.97 vs ~1.63 Å for Be4O(OAc)6.