Bromate ion (BrO₃⁻)
- Charge
- −1
- Atoms
- Br, O × 3
- Atoms in total
- 4
- Mass of the ion
- 127.901 g/mol
Bromate is one bromine atom bonded to three oxygen atoms, with a 1− charge. It is the anion of bromic acid, HBrO₃, and bromine is in the +5 state, so 5 − 6 = −1. You meet it as a dough improver in some breads and as a by-product that water plants check for after disinfecting with ozone.
- Bromate matches chlorate, ClO₃⁻, and iodate, IO₃⁻: same three oxygens and same 1− charge, because chlorine, bromine and iodine are all halogens.
- Its relative perbromate, BrO₄⁻, was so hard to make that chemists first prepared it only in 1968.
- Potassium bromate, KBrO₃, is banned as a flour additive in many countries, including the UK and Canada, because it may cause cancer.
Compounds that contain bromate
KBrO3 Potassium bromate
NaBrO3 Sodium bromate