The iodine clock reaction is a classical
chemical clock demonstration experiment to display
chemical kinetics
Chemical kinetics, also known as reaction kinetics, is the branch of physical chemistry that is concerned with understanding the rates of chemical reactions. It is to be contrasted with chemical thermodynamics, which deals with the direction in ...
in action; it was discovered by
Hans Heinrich Landolt in 1886. The iodine clock reaction exists in several variations, which each involve
iodine species (
iodide
An iodide ion is the ion I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine de ...
ion, free iodine, or
iodate
An iodate is the polyatomic anion with the formula . It is the most common form of iodine in nature, as it comprises the major iodine-containing ores. Iodate salts are often colorless. They are the salts of iodic acid.
Structure
Iodate is pyr ...
ion) and
redox
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...
reagents in the presence of
starch. Two colourless solutions are mixed and at first there is no visible reaction. After a short time delay, the liquid suddenly turns to a shade of dark blue due to the formation of a
triiodide–starch complex. In some variations, the solution will repeatedly cycle from colorless to blue and back to colorless, until the reagents are depleted.
Hydrogen peroxide variation
This method starts with a solution of
hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%â ...
and
sulfuric acid. To this a solution containing
potassium iodide
Potassium iodide is a chemical compound, medication, and dietary supplement. It is a medication used for treating hyperthyroidism, in radiation emergencies, and for protecting the thyroid gland when certain types of radiopharmaceuticals are u ...
,
sodium thiosulfate
Sodium thiosulfate (sodium thiosulphate) is an inorganic compound with the formula . Typically it is available as the white or colorless pentahydrate, . The solid is an efflorescent (loses water readily) crystalline substance that dissolves well in ...
, and
starch is added. There are two reactions occurring simultaneously in the solution.
In the first, slow reaction, iodine is produced:
: + 2 + 2 → + 2
In the second, fast reaction, iodine is reconverted to two iodide ions by the thiosulfate:
:2 + → + 2
After some time the solution always changes color to a very dark blue, almost black.
When the solutions are mixed, the second reaction causes the
iodine to be
consumed much faster than it is generated, and only a small amount of iodine is present in the
dynamic equilibrium
In chemistry, a dynamic equilibrium exists once a reversible reaction occurs. Substances transition between the reactants and products at equal rates, meaning there is no net change. Reactants and products are formed at such a rate that the co ...
. Once the thiosulfate ion has been exhausted, this reaction stops and the blue colour caused by the
iodine – starch complex appears.
Anything that accelerates the first reaction will shorten the time until the solution changes color. Decreasing the pH (increasing concentration), or increasing the concentration of iodide or hydrogen peroxide will shorten the time. Adding more thiosulfate will have the opposite effect; it will take longer for the blue colour to appear.
Aside from using sodium thiosulfate as a substrate,
cysteine can also be used.
iodide from potassium iodide is converted to iodine in the first reaction:
2 + 2 H
+ + H
2O
2 → I
2 + 2 H
2O
The iodine produced in the first reaction is reduced back to iodide by the
reducing agent
In chemistry, a reducing agent (also known as a reductant, reducer, or electron donor) is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an (called the , , , or ).
Examples of substances that are commonly reducing agents include the Earth me ...
, cysteine. At the same time, cysteine is oxidized into cystine.
2 C
3H
7NO
2S + I
2 → C
6H
12N
2O
4S
2 + 2 + 2 H
+
Similar to thiosulfate case, when cysteine is exhausted, the blue color appears.
Iodate variation
An alternative protocol uses a solution of
iodate
An iodate is the polyatomic anion with the formula . It is the most common form of iodine in nature, as it comprises the major iodine-containing ores. Iodate salts are often colorless. They are the salts of iodic acid.
Structure
Iodate is pyr ...
ion (for instance potassium iodate) to which an acidified solution (again with
sulfuric acid) of
sodium bisulfite
Sodium bisulfite (or sodium bisulphite, sodium hydrogen sulfite) is a chemical mixture with the approximate chemical formula NaHSO3. Sodium bisulfite in fact is not a real compound, but a mixture of salts that dissolve in water to give solutions ...
is added.
In this protocol,
iodide
An iodide ion is the ion I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine de ...
ion is generated by the following slow reaction between the iodate and bisulfite:
: + 3 → + 3
This first step is the rate determining step. Next, the iodate in excess will oxidize the iodide generated above to form iodine:
: + 5 + 6 → 3 + 3
However, the iodine is reduced immediately back to iodide by the bisulfite:
: + + → 2 + + 2
When the bisulfite is fully consumed, the iodine will survive (i.e., no reduction by the bisulfite) to form the dark blue complex with starch.
Persulfate variation
This clock reaction uses
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
,
potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosph ...
or
ammonium persulfate
Ammonium persulfate (APS) is the inorganic compound with the formula (NH4)2S2O8. It is a colourless (white) salt that is highly soluble in water, much more so than the related potassium salt. It is a strong oxidizing agent that is used as a catalys ...
to
oxidize
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...
iodide
An iodide ion is the ion I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine de ...
ions to
iodine.
Sodium thiosulfate
Sodium thiosulfate (sodium thiosulphate) is an inorganic compound with the formula . Typically it is available as the white or colorless pentahydrate, . The solid is an efflorescent (loses water readily) crystalline substance that dissolves well in ...
is used to reduce iodine back to iodide before the iodine can complex with the
starch to form the characteristic blue-black color.
Iodine is generated:
:2 + → + 2
And is then removed:
: + 2 → 2 +
Once all the thiosulfate is consumed the iodine may form a complex with the starch. Potassium persulfate is less soluble (cfr. Salters website) while ammonium persulfate has a higher solubility and is used instead in the reaction described in examples from Oxford University.
Chlorate variation
An experimental iodine clock sequence has also been established for a system consisting of
iodine potassium-iodide,
sodium chlorate
Sodium chlorate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na ClO3. It is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water. It is hygroscopic. It decomposes above 300 °C to release oxygen and leaves sodium chloride. Sever ...
and
perchloric acid
Perchloric acid is a mineral acid with the formula H Cl O4. Usually found as an aqueous solution, this colorless compound is a stronger acid than sulfuric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. It is a powerful oxidizer when hot, but aqueous s ...
that takes place through the following reactions.
Triiodide
In chemistry, triiodide usually refers to the triiodide ion, . This anion, one of the polyhalogen ions, is composed of three iodine atoms. It is formed by combining aqueous solutions of iodide salts and iodine. Some salts of the anion have bee ...
is present in equilibrium with
iodide
An iodide ion is the ion I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine de ...
anion and molecular
iodine:
: +
Chlorate ion oxidizes iodide ion to
hypoiodous acid and
chlorous acid
Chlorous acid is an inorganic compound with the formula HClO2. It is a weak acid. Chlorine has oxidation state +3 in this acid. The pure substance is unstable, disproportionating to hypochlorous acid (Cl oxidation state +1) and chloric acid (C ...
in the slow and
rate-determining step
In chemical kinetics, the overall rate of a reaction is often approximately determined by the slowest step, known as the rate-determining step (RDS or RD-step or r/d step) or rate-limiting step. For a given reaction mechanism, the prediction of the ...
:
: + + 2 → +
Chlorate consumption is accelerated by reaction of hypoiodous acid to
iodous acid
The iodite ion, or iodine dioxide anion, is the halite with the chemical formula . Within the ion the Iodine exists in the oxidation state of +3.
Iodite anion
Iodites (including iodous acid) are highly unstable and have been observed but never ...
and more chlorous acid:
: + + → +
More
autocatalysis
A single chemical reaction is said to be autocatalytic if one of the reaction products is also a catalyst for the same or a coupled reaction.Steinfeld J.I., Francisco J.S. and Hase W.L. ''Chemical Kinetics and Dynamics'' (2nd ed., Prentice-Hall 199 ...
when newly generated iodous acid also converts chlorate in the fastest reaction step:
: + → +
In this clock the
induction period
An induction period in chemical kinetics is an initial slow stage of a chemical reaction; after the induction period, the reaction accelerates. Ignoring induction periods can lead to runaway reactions.
In some catalytic reactions, a pre-catalyst n ...
is the time it takes for the autocatalytic process to start after which the concentration of free
iodine falls rapidly as observed by
UV–visible spectroscopy.
See also
*
Clock reaction
A chemical clock (or clock reaction) is a complex mixture of reacting chemical compounds in which the onset of an observable property (discoloration or coloration) occurs after a predictable induction time due to the presence of clock species at a ...
*
Old Nassau reaction
*
Chemical oscillator
A chemical oscillator is a complex mixture of reacting chemical compounds in which the concentration of one or more components exhibits periodic changes. They are a class of reactions that serve as an example of non-equilibrium thermodynamics wit ...
*
Briggs–Rauscher reaction
The Briggs–Rauscher oscillating reaction is one of a small number of known oscillating chemical reactions. It is especially well suited for demonstration purposes because of its visually striking colour changes: the freshly prepared colourless s ...
References
External links
Hydrogen peroxide variationSodium bisulfite variation with a high-speed camera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iodine Clock Reaction
Chemical kinetics
Chemistry classroom experiments
Clock reactions
Clock reaction
A chemical clock (or clock reaction) is a complex mixture of reacting chemical compounds in which the onset of an observable property (discoloration or coloration) occurs after a predictable induction time due to the presence of clock species at a ...
Thiosulfates
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