Iodine Diversity
Iodine

Elemental Iodine is easily reduced or oxidized. The ease of these chemical reactions gives rise to a high diversity of ionic, iodine containing molecules. Ionic iodine can be found in different states of validity, often bound to oxygen or hydrogen. For instance, in the salt Potassium Iodide (KI), iodine is present with a negative validity (1^–) in the ion I^–. In the salt Potassium Iodiate (KIO₃), iodine is molecularly bound to oxygen, and is present with a positive validity (5+) in the ion IO₃^–. The reducing or oxidative properties of iodine containing molecules make them particularly suitable as catalysts in a wide range of chemical synthesis processes.

 

In its elemental state, Iodine can be bound to carbon, oxygen or hydrogen in organic molecules. These can be relatively small molecules, such as methyliodide (CH3I), or complex molecules, for instance when Iodine is incorporated in organic matter in the soil to iodo-organic molecules, or in mammalian thyroid hormones.