Iodic acid


Iodic acid, HIO3. It is a white water-soluble solid. Its robustness contrasts with the instability of chloric acid and bromic acid. Iodic acid features iodine in the oxidation state +5 and is one of the most stable oxo-acids of the halogens. When heated, samples dehydrate to give iodine pentoxide. On further heating, the iodine pentoxide further decomposes, giving a mix of iodine, oxygen and lower oxides of iodine.

Preparation

Iodic acid can be produced by oxidizing iodine I2 with strong oxidizers such as nitric acid, chlorine, chloric acid or hydrogen peroxide, for example:

Properties

Iodic acid is a relatively strong acid with a pKa of 0.75. It is strongly oxidizing in acidic solution, less so in basic solution. When iodic acid acts as oxidizer, then the product of the reaction is either iodine, or iodide ion. Under some special conditions, iodic acid is reduced to iodine trichloride, a golden yellow compound in solution and no further reduction occurs. In the absence of chloride ions, when there is an excess amount of reductant, then all iodate is converted to iodide ion. When there is an excess amount of iodate, then part of the iodate is converted to iodine. It may be used in preparation of ionization to form alkyl halides.

Uses

Iodic acid is used as a strong acid in analytical chemistry. It may be used to standardize solutions of both weak and strong bases, using methyl red or methyl orange as the indicator.

Use in salt industry

Iodic acid can be used to synthesize sodium or potassium iodate for increasing iodine content of salt.

Other oxyacids

Iodate is part of a series of oxyacids in which iodine can assume oxidation states of −1, +1, +3, +5, or +7. A number of neutral iodine oxides are also known.
Iodine oxidation state−1+1+3+5+7
NameHydrogen iodideHypoiodous acidIodous acidIodic acidPeriodic acid
FormulaHIHIOHIO2HIO3HIO4 or H5IO6