Iodate ion (IO₃⁻)
- Charge
- −1
- Atoms
- I, O × 3
- Atoms in total
- 4
- Mass of the ion
- 174.897 g/mol
Iodate is one iodine atom with three oxygen atoms and a 1− charge, built the same way as chlorate and bromate. Iodine is in the +5 state, and three oxygens at −2 each bring the total to −1. Many countries add iodate to table salt to supply the iodine your thyroid gland needs, because it keeps better than iodide in warm, damp climates.
- Periodate, IO₄⁻, has one more oxygen, and the prefix per- marks that extra oxygen just as it does in perchlorate.
- Iodate is a starting ion in the iodine clock reaction, in which a clear solution suddenly turns blue-black.
- Potassium iodate, KIO₃, is the iodate salt most often used to iodize salt.