Aluminium carbonate (Al<sub>2</sub>(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>), is a carbonate of aluminium. It is not well characterized; one authority says that simple carbonates of aluminium are not known. However, related compounds are known, such as the basic sodium aluminium carbonate mineral dawsonite (NaAlCO<sub>3</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>) and hydrated basic aluminium carbonate minerals scarbroite (Al<sub>5</sub>(CO<sub>3</sub>)(OH)<sub>13</sub>â¢5(H<sub>2</sub>O)) and hydroscarbroite (Al<sub>14</sub>(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>(OH)<sub>36</sub>â¢nH<sub>2</sub>O).
For many years there was no evidence for the existence of a simple aluminium carbonate, , as the combination of Al<sup>3+</sup> and carbonates are sufficiently alkaline to precipitate aluminium hydroxide and produce carbon dioxide:
However, in 2023, was produced by heating aluminium oxide at 2300 ðC under 24 GPa of carbon dioxide. The resulting solid is stable in air and at room temperature.
Some minerals contain both aluminium and carbonate. Dawsonite has the formula NaAlCO<sub>3</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>. Hydrotalcites, both synthetic and natural, are layered metal hydroxides comprised in part of aluminium and carbonate.
Surface carbonate species readily form upon exposure of aluminium oxide to .