Acetate is the conjugate base of acetic acid. The acetate ions is commonly abbreviated as AcO- or -OAc.  Acetic acid is a weak acid which dissociates in water to release a proton and an acetate ions at a pH of 5.5 or above. Acetate chemical formula is CH3COO-

CH3COOH + H2O ⇌ CH3COO- + H3O+
The effect of acetate ions on the corrosion of reinforcing steel in chloride environments have been investigated. For this purpose, potentiodynamic polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and compressive strength techniques were used. In the presence of acetate ions polarization resistance (R p) values of reinforced concrete were higher than those without acetate ions. AC impedance spectra revealed the similar results with R p measurements. The compressive strength of concrete specimens containing acetate ions was measured and an increase of 14.7–38.9% was observed.

Sodium acetate has the chemical formula of C2H3NaO2
. Its anhydrous form has a molecular mass of 82.03 g/mol. It is a white deliquescent powder with no characteristic odour at room temperature and normal pressure. However, when heated till decomposition, it gives of vinegar-like odour due to the presence of acetate ions. It dissolves readily in water, giving a mildly basic solution due to the formation of NaOH, a strong base, along with acetic acid (CH3COOH)
, a weak acid.
Sodium Acetate Structure
In sodium acetate, both sodium and acetate ions have a unitary charge. The sodium ion has a charge of +1 due to the loss of a single electron from the 3s orbital, while the acetate ions have a charge of -1. The charge on the acetate ions are delocalized on the two oxygen atoms making it highly stable. The carbon-oxygen bonds of acetate ions are covalent with extensive electron delocalization. In contrast, the bond between sodium and acetate ions is ionic due to the electrostatic interaction between the two ions.
Acetate ion was widely used in pH buffer to control pH environment. Here we firstly found that acetate ions had mimic peroxidase activity. Acetate ions are capable of catalyzing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and play a similar role to that of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Acetate catalyzes the oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by H2O2, which is the product of the reaction of glucose and glucose oxidase. A colorimetric sensor for H2O2 and glucose was developed using acetate ions. The linear regression equation for H2O2 was A = 0.0029 C + 0.0530 (C (μmolL-1), R = 0.9978), and the detection limit was 3.0 μmolL-1, whereas that for glucose was A = 0.0021 C + 0.0709 (C (μmol L-1), R = 0.9977), and the detection limit was 4.0 μmol L-1. Moreover, the proposed method was successfully applied for the detection of H2O2 in human urine and glucose in human serum; thus, the proposed method could be used for the diagnosis of illness or disease. A single-enzyme-based glucose test paper was firstly prepared and tested for semi-quantitative analysis of glucose.