The reaction of potassium acetate dissolved in water

Potassium acetate ($CH_ {3} COOK $), when dissolved in water, has the following reaction. Potassium acetate is a strong electrolyte and is completely ionized in water. The ionization equation is: $CH_ {3} COOK\ longrightarrow CH_ {3} C O O ^{-} + K ^{+}$。

There is a weak ionization equilibrium of water in water, $H_ {2} O\ rightleftharpoons H ^{+} + O H ^{-}$ 。 The acetate ion ($CH_ {3} COO ^{-}$）， ionized by potassium acetate will combine with the hydrogen ion ($H ^ {+} $) ionized by water to form acetic acid ($CH_ {3} COOH $), which is a hydrolysis reaction. The ionic equation is: $CH_ {3} COO ^{-} + H_ {2} O\ rightleftharpoons CH_ {3} COOH + OH ^{-}$ 。 This hydrolysis reaction increases the concentration of hydroxide ions in the solution, so the potassium acetate solution is alkaline.

In summary, the dissolution of potassium acetate in water has both an ionization process and the hydrolysis of acetate ions affects the acidity and alkalinity of the solution.