Citric acid and acetic acid are different in acidity and alkalinity, and citric acid is relatively more acidic. This difference can be reflected by their ionization constants, with citric acid having a first-order dissociation constant of 7.1×10^-4 and acetic acid having a ionization constant of 1.8×10^-5. This means that under the same conditions, citric acid dissociates to hydrogen ions more easily and therefore exhibits stronger acidity.
It is worth noting that although acetic acid is relatively weak in acidity, in practical applications, due to the higher stability of its acetate ions, it shows superior performance in some aspects, such as As a catalyst in chemical reactions, etc.
In general, there are differences in acidity and chemical properties between citric acid and acetic acid, which need to be selected and used according to specific application scenarios and needs.