Aluminium acetate or aluminium ethanoate (also "aluminum ~"), sometimes abbreviated AlAc in geochemistry, can refer to a number of different salts of aluminium with acetic acid. In the solid state, three salts exist under this name: basic aluminium monoacetate, (HO)<sub>2</sub>AlCH<sub>3</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>, basic aluminium diacetate, HOAl(CH<sub>3</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, and neutral aluminium triacetate, Al(CH<sub>3</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>)<sub>3.</sub> In aqueous solution, aluminium triacetate hydrolyses to form a mixture of the other two, and all solutions of all three can be referred to as "aluminium acetate" as the species formed coexist and inter-convert in chemical equilibrium.
Aluminium monoacetate, also known as dibasic aluminium acetate, forms from Al(OH)<sub>3</sub> and dilute aqueous acetic acid. More concentrated acid leads to the di- and triacetate.
Aluminium diacetate, also known as basic aluminium acetate, is prepared from aqueous aluminium acetate solution resulting in a white powder. This basic salt forms from the hydrolysis of the triacetate in water.
Aluminium triacetate is a chemical compound that is prepared by heating aluminium chloride (AlCl<sub>3</sub>) or Al powder with a mixture of acetic acid (CH<sub>3</sub>COOH) and acetic anhydride (C<sub>4</sub>H<sub>6</sub>O<sub>3</sub>). It is referred as the normal salt and is only made in the absence of water at a relatively high temperature like 180 ðC.