Synthesis
Copper(II) acetate synthesized by the method described in the history section leads to impure samples. It is prepared industrially by heating copper(II) hydroxide or copper(II) carbonate with acetic acid. A second method of copper acetate production is to electrolyze a concentrated aqueous solution of calcium acetate with copper electrodes. As the reaction proceeds the anode oxidizes to produce copper acetate which adheres to its surface and can be removed as crystals. At the cathode calcium ions are reduced to calcium atoms and would be deposited, but due to the water content of the solution the calcium is converted to insoluble calcium hydroxide. The drawback with this setup is that the cathode gets coated with an insulating layer of calcium hydroxide, which gradually slows the process. To negate this hydroxide buildup mercury is utilized as the cathode; therefore as the process takes place the calcium formed immediately reacts with the mercury to make a calcium-mercury amalgam and the copper acetate formed at the anode is removed periodically. This process generally yields suitably pure copper acetate, on a small scale, with slight traces of calcium acetate.
Copper(II) acetate also forms by treating copper metal with a solution of acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide.
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