Sodium iodate ( Na I O₃) is the

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

of iodic acid. Sodium iodate is an

oxidizing agent An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ''electron donor''). In ot ...

. It has several uses.

Preparation

It can be prepared by reacting a sodium-containing base such as

sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base (chemistry), ...

with iodic acid, for example: : HIO₃ + NaOH → NaIO₃ + H₂O It can also be prepared by adding

iodine Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

to a hot, concentrated solution of

or sodium carbonate: :3 I₂ + 6 NaOH → NaIO₃ + 5 NaI + 3 H₂O

Reactions

Sodium iodate can be oxidized to sodium periodate in water solutions by hypochlorites or other strong oxidizing agents: :NaIO₃ + NaOCl → NaIO₄ + NaCl

Uses

The main use of sodium iodate in everyday life is in

iodised salt Iodised salt (American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), also spelled iodized salt) is Salt#Edible salt, table salt mixed with a minute amount of various iodine salts. The ingestion of iodine prevents iod ...

. The other compounds which are used in iodised table salt are potassium iodate, potassium iodide, and

sodium iodide Sodium iodide (chemical formula NaI) is an ionic compound formed from the chemical reaction of sodium metal and iodine. Under standard conditions, it is a white, water-soluble solid comprising a 1:1 mix of sodium cations (Na+) and iodide anions ...

. Sodium iodate comprises 15 to 50 mg per

kilogram The kilogram (also spelled kilogramme) is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand grams. It has the unit symbol kg. The word "kilogram" is formed from the combination of the metric prefix kilo- (m ...

of applicable salt. Sodium iodate is also used as a dough conditioner to strengthen the

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

Safety

Iodates combined with organic compounds form an explosive mixture.

References

{{Iodates Iodates Sodium compounds Oxidizing agents