Answer: Physical and chemical properties
Explanation: Iodine is a nonmetallic, nearly black solid at room temperature and has a glittering crystalline appearance. The molecular lattice contains discrete diatomic molecules, which are also present in the molten and the gaseous states. Above 700 °C (1,300 °F), dissociation into iodine atoms becomes appreciable.
Iodine has a moderate vapour pressure at room temperature and in an open vessel slowly sublimes to a deep violet vapour that is irritating to the eyes, nose, and throat. (Highly concentrated iodine is poisonous and may cause serious damage to skin and tissues.) For this reason, iodine is best weighed in a stoppered bottle; for the preparation of an aqueous solution, the bottle may contain a solution of potassium iodide, which considerably decreases the vapour pressure of iodine; a brown complex (triiodide) is readily formed:
KI + I2 → KI3.
Molten iodine may be used as a nonaqueous solvent for iodides. The electrical conductivity of molten iodine has in part been ascribed to the following self-ionization equilibrium:
3I2 ⇌ I3+ + I3−.
The alkali iodides are soluble in molten iodine and give conducting solutions typical of weak electrolytes. Alkali iodides react with compounds containing iodine with the oxidation number +1, such as iodine bromide, as in the following equation:
Chemical equation.
In such reactions the alkali iodides may be regarded as bases.