Zinc acetate

Uses

Zinc acetate is a component of some medicines, e.g., lozenges for treating the common cold. Zinc acetate can also be used as a dietary supplement. 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.

Zinc acetate is used as the catalyst for the industrial production of vinyl acetate from acetylene: . Approximately 1/3 of the worlds production uses this route, which because of its environmental impact, is mainly practiced in countries with relaxed environmental regulations such as China.

Preparation

Zinc acetates are prepared by the action of acetic acid on zinc carbonate or zinc metal. Treatment of zinc nitrate with acetic anhydride is an alternative route.

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 the dihydrate, zinc is octahedral, wherein both acetate groups are bidentate.

Reactions

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. It can also be prepared by a reaction of glacial acetic acid with zinc oxide. The cluster compound has a tetrahedral structure with an oxide ligand at its center Basic zinc acetate is a common precursor to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

|File:BasicZnAcetate.png

References

References

1. (February 11, 2016). "Zinc – Fact Sheet for Health Professionals". Office of Dietary Supplements, US National Institutes of Health.
2. (2014). "Zinc Absorption by Young Adults from Supplemental Zinc Citrate is Comparable with That from Zinc Gluconate and Higher than from Zinc Oxide". The Journal of Nutrition.
3. (July 2014). "Wilson Disease".
4. (1990). "Topical erythromycin and zinc therapy for acne". Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
5. (2019). "Vinyl Esters".
6. (1963). "Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed.". Academic Press.
7. (15 December 1986). "Monoclinic anhydrous zinc(II) acetate". Acta Crystallographica Section C.
8. (15 November 2006). "A new monoclinic polymorph of anhydrous zinc acetate". Acta Crystallographica Section E.
9. (1979). "Anhydrous Zinc(II) Acetate (CH₃-COO)₂Zn". Crystal Structure Communications.
10. (10 September 1953). "The crystal structure of zinc acetate dihydrate, Zn(CH₃COO)₂.2H₂O". Acta Crystallographica.
11. (15 August 1997). "Zinc(II) Acetate Dihydrate". Acta Crystallographica Section C.
12. (June 1983). "Improved synthesis of basic zinc acetate, hexakis(.mu.-acetato)-.mu.-oxotetrazinc". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Product Research and Development.
13. (1954). "The Crystal Structure of Zinc Oxyacetate, Zn₄O(CH₃COO)₆". [[Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn.]].