Potassium periodate is an

inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemist ...

salt with the

molecular formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

KIO₄. It is composed of a

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 atmosphe ...

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

and a

periodate Periodate is an anion composed of iodine and oxygen. It is one of a number of oxyanions of iodine and is the highest in the series, with iodine existing in oxidation state +7. Unlike other perhalogenates, such as perchlorate, it can exist in two ...

anion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

and may also be regarded as the potassium

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

periodic acid Periodic acid ( ) is the highest oxoacid of iodine, in which the iodine exists in oxidation state +7. Like all periodates it can exist in two forms: orthoperiodic acid, with the chemical formula , and metaperiodic acid, which has the formula . ...

. Note that the pronunciation is per-iodate, not period-ate. Unlike other common periodates, such as

sodium periodate Sodium periodate is an inorganic salt, composed of a sodium cation and the periodate anion. It may also be regarded as the sodium salt of periodic acid. Like many periodates, it can exist in two different forms: sodium ''meta''periodate (formula‍ ...

and

, it is only available in the ''meta''periodate form; the corresponding potassium ''ortho''periodate (K₅IO₆) has never been reported.

Preparation

Potassium periodate can be prepared by the oxidation of an aqueous solution of

potassium iodate Potassium iodate ( K I O3) is an ionic chemical compound consisting of K+ ions and IO3− ions in a 1:1 ratio. Preparation and properties Potassium iodate is an oxidizing agent and as such it can cause fires if in contact with combustible materi ...

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...

and

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

. : It can also be generated by the

electrochemical Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outc ...

oxidation of

, however the low solubility of KIO₃ makes this approach of limited use.

Chemical properties

Potassium periodate decomposes at 582 °C to form

and

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

. The low solubility of KIO₄ makes it useful for the determination of potassium and

cerium Cerium is a chemical element with the symbol Ce and atomic number 58. Cerium is a soft, ductile, and silvery-white metal that tarnishes when exposed to air. Cerium is the second element in the lanthanide series, and while it often shows the +3 o ...

. M. Venugopalan and K. J. George: "Determination of cerium by potassium periodate" in ''Naturwissenschaften'', ''43''(15), S. 348–349. It is slightly soluble in water (one of the less soluble of potassium salts, owing to a large anion), giving rise to a solution that is slightly

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

. On heating (especially with

manganese(IV) oxide Manganese dioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula . This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese and a component of manganese nodules. The principal use for is for dry-cel ...

as catalyst), it decomposes to form potassium iodate, releasing oxygen gas. KIO₄ forms

tetragonal In crystallography, the tetragonal crystal system is one of the 7 crystal systems. Tetragonal crystal lattices result from stretching a cubic lattice along one of its lattice vectors, so that the cube becomes a rectangular prism with a square ...

crystals of the Scheelite type (

space group In mathematics, physics and chemistry, a space group is the symmetry group of an object in space, usually in three dimensions. The elements of a space group (its symmetry operations) are the rigid transformations of an object that leave it unchan ...

''I''4₁/_a).

References

Periodates Potassium compounds Oxidizing agents {{inorganic-compound-stub