Purple Fumes: the Importance of Iodine
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Science topics Chemistry Purple fumes: the importance of iodine Iodine, with its characteristic purple vapours, has myriad applications – from the familiar disinfectant to innovative solar cells. By Frithjof C Küpper, from the Sun), prevents some congeni- Although Courtois suspected that Martin C Feiters, Berit Olofsson, tal abnormalities in humans, and has his purple vapour was a new element, Tatsuo Kaiho, Shozo Yanagida, many industrial applications? he did not have the financial means The discovery of iodine can be to follow up his research. It was left Michael B Zimmermann, traced back to the 19th century and the to his colleagues, including Joseph Lucy J Carpenter, Napoleonic wars. With the British im- Gay-Lussac, to confirm his results George W Luther III, Zunli Lu, posing a blockade on European ports, and name the element iodine, from Mats Jonsson & Lars Kloo the French were faced with shortages the Greek word iodes, which means of saltpetre (KNO3) for manufactur- purple or violet. ing gunpowder. So chemist Bernard Gay-Lussac went on to investigate hat makes iodine so impor- Courtois investigated the potential the chemistry of iodine, and despite W tant and interesting? Not of seaweed (brown algae, Laminaria the war, the French chemists found only does it sublimate into a dramatic sp.) as the potassium source for this ways to correspond with British purple gas, but it also affects many crucial substance. He added concen- chemists, notably Sir Humphry Davy. aspects of life on Earth and of human trated sulphuric acid to seaweed ash Initially, Davy believed the vapour civilisation. Did you know, for exam- and was surprised by the beautiful to be a chlorine compound, but soon ple, that iodine protects marine algae purple fumes that were produced concluded that it was indeed a new from oxidative damage (for example (figure 1). element. www.scienceinschool.org Science in School I Issue 27 : Autumn 2013 I 45 Public domain image / Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Public domain image / The front page of Courtois’ historic publication reporting the discovery of iodine Image courtesy of Frithjof Küpper Image courtesy of Frithjof Sir Humphrey Davy ain image / Wikim dom edia blic Co Pu mm o ns Portrait of Joseph Louis Gay- Lussac, French physicist and chemist, by François Séraphin Delpech (1778–1825) Chemistry history of science (the discovery of the elements), the Biology role of scientists in the development of weapons, or the Physics relationships between scientists of opposing countries History during wartime. Ages 13-18 Suitable comprehension questions include: In this concise update on the element iodine, the 1. From the article you can deduce that seaweeds authors guide the reader through the history and the accumulate iodine: many applications of this important element, from a) To oxidise atmospheric ozone medicine to industry and energy production. Sugges- tions for school laboratory experiments add interest b) To absorb atmospheric ozone and appeal to the topic. c) To produce atmospheric ozone Given the plain and clear style, I recommend this arti- d) To protect themselves from atmospheric ozone. cle not only to European science teachers but also to 2. If we do not receive enough iodine: their students aged 13-18. It could be used in lessons a) Our thyroid gland enlarges / atrophies on chemistry (the periodic table, halogens), biology b) Our anterior pituitary gland secretes less / more (endocrine glands, the thyroid and its diseases) and physics (isotopes, radioactivity and solar cells). There thyroid-stimulating hormone REVIEW is also an interdisciplinary opportunity to address the Giulia Realdon, Italy 46 I Science in School I Issue 27 : Autumn 2013 www.scienceinschool.org Science topics odi Squirmelia / y of J Flick rtes r ou e c ag With the help of X-ray absorption Im spectroscopy, we now know that seaweeds accumulate iodine as iodide (I-), which acts as an antioxidant to protect them against oxidative dam- age caused by atmospheric ozone (O3). This goes some way to explain- ing why trace amounts of molecular iodine (I ) can be detected in the at- kelp forest, big Sur, Chemistry 2 California mosphere of coastal regions and why human iodine intake in these regions is dependent on seaweed abundance rather than proximity to the sea. For much of the next century, iodine continued to be extracted from sea- weed. Today, however, it is removed from natural iodine-containing brines in gas and oil fields in Japan and the USA, or from Chilean caliches (nitrate Brown algae such as kelp are the strong- ores), which contain calcium iodate est iodine accumulators among living (Ca(IO3)2). The iodine is supplied to systems. Photograph taken on the shore at the market as a purplish-black solid. Dunstaffnage, near Oban, Scotland, UK Iodine chemistry Iodine belongs to the halogens, and thus shares many of the typical characteristics of the elements in this group. Because of its high electron- Image courtesy of FCK egativity, iodine forms iodides with most elements in its formal oxidation state, -1. Many iodine-containing compounds are frequently used as reagents in organic synthesis – mainly for iodination, oxidation and C-C bond formation. Iodine in the atmosphere originates mostly from biological and chemical processes in the ocean – such as the io- dide antioxidant system in seaweeds. Most iodine is ultimately removed from the atmosphere by cloud forma- tion. In the ocean, iodine is mainly - dissolved and exists as iodate (IO3 , oxidised form) and iodide (I-, reduced form). In Earth’s outer layer (the litho- sphere), most iodine is in marine and terrestrial sediments; iodine levels are low in igneous rocks. The physiological importance of iodine Physiologically, iodine is an essential element, required for the synthesis www.scienceinschool.org Science in School I Issue 27 : Autumn 2013 I 47 Image courtesy of Eleanor A Merritt s n o m m o C a i d e m i k i W / i i r Iodine vapour u J f o y s e t r u o c e g a m I of thyroid hormones – triiodotyros- The thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) ine and thyroxine (figure 3) – which and triiodotyrosine (T3) regulate growth, development and cell metabolism. The recommended dietary intake of iodine for adults is 150 µg/day, which can be obtained sive growth of the thyroid gland. But from dairy products, seaweed and the most damaging effect of a lack of iodised table salt. iodine is to the developing brains of The classic symptom of iodine defi- babies, leading to mental retardation. ciency is thyroid enlargement (goitre). Furthermore, severe iodine deficiency As iodine intake falls, the anterior during pregnancy is associated with a pituitary gland secretes increasing greater incidence of stillbirth, miscar- levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone riage and congenital abnormalities. in an effort to maximise the uptake of The most effective way to prevent available iodine; this leads to exces- Image courtesy of Michael Zimmermann iodine deficiency is to add potassium 48 I Science in School I Issue 27 : Autumn 2013 www.scienceinschool.org Science topics iodide (KI) or potassium iodate (KIO3) cess) are used to catalyse the carbony- Iodine in the energy industry lation of methanol. to table salt. This practice of salt Iodine is used in one of the most Silver iodide (AgI), used in early iodisation is carried out in around 120 promising solar cells on the market photographic plates, is used today countries, with more than 70% of the for the production of low-cost ‘green in cloud seeding to initiate rain and world population now having access energy’: the dye-sensitised titanium to control climate. Because AgI has a to iodised salt. oxide solar cell. Also known as the similar crystal structure to ice, it can Grätzel cell after one of its inventors, induce freezing by providing nuclea- Industrial uses of iodine it consists of polyiodide electrolytes as tion sites. This was done at the 2008 Iodine and its compounds are used the charge transport layer between the Chemistry Beijing Olympics to prevent rainfall in myriad products, from food and cathode and the anode (to learn more, during the opening and closing cer- pharmaceuticals, through to animal see Shallcross et al., 2009). emonies. feed and industrial catalysts (figure With its high atomic weight (126.9) Of the 37 known isotopes of io- 127 4). For instance, iodine is a potent an- and large number of electrons, iodine dine, all but one, I, are radioactive. timicrobial. For more than a century, is also an excellent X-ray absorber Most of these radioisotopes, which iodine tincture – a mixture of ethanol, and is used in X-ray contrast media. are produced via fission reactions in water, iodine and potassium iodide – These substances are generally safe to nuclear power plants and weapons, was used as an antiseptic for wounds. administer to humans and enable the are short-lived, which makes them This has now largely been replaced visualisation of soft tissues in X-ray useful as tracers and therapeutic by water-soluble ionophores (iodine examinations. agents in medicine. For example, io- complexed with surfactants), which A more everyday application of dine isotopes can be used to image the are less irritating to the skin. For iodine is in liquid-crystal displays for thyroid gland, which absorbs radioac- example, povidone iodine, a mixture TVs, computers and mobile phones, tive iodine when it is injected into the of polyvinylpyrrolidone and iodine, is which use polarising films to filter bloodstream. used widely as a surgical scrub. light. These films are commonly Unfortunately, radioactive 131I, In the industrial production of acetic made of polyvinyl alcohol layers released from nuclear accidents – such acid, iodine compounds such as rho- doped with iodine. Here, iodine acts as the disaster in Fukushima, Japan, in dium iodide (the Monsanto process) as a cross-linker and ensures that the 2011 – is also taken up by the thyroid.