Aluminium Hypoiodite
Aluminium hypoiodite is a substance that is formed when aluminium and iodine react. It is a Lewis acid, meaning it can accept an electron pair from the binary compound group.
It is also an amphoteric substance. This means it can give either a basic or acidic solution, depending on the cation in the solution.
When aluminium iodide is dissolved in water, a purple vapour forms. This is caused by a reaction between two atoms of aluminium and three atoms of iodine. This is because it takes three atoms of iodine to complete the outer shell for an aluminium atom.
The oxidation state of the aluminum iodide cation is -3. When it is diluted in alkalis, it becomes a hydroxide. When a heated solution of aluminium iodide is mixed with water, the aluminum iodide cation can break off and form a tetrahydroxalluminate molecule, which can be decomposed.
In chemistry, it is often used as a catalyst to speed up a reaction. It breaks carbon-oxygen and nitrogen-oxygen bonds, and it removes oxygen atoms from epoxides. It can also be used to kill germs and disinfect enclosures in animal barns. Pigs are sprayed with an aerosol form of aluminium iodide when they develop pneumonia.
