This laboratory experiment explores the mechanism of iodine activation of iodate to the gas-phase by photosensitized- and dark reactions of iodate in thin aqueous films. This experiment was conducted in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland.
UV photons photolyze the Fe(III) Cit resulting in the release of CO2 and the production of reactive oxygen species (i.e. HO2 and H2O2) which serve to reduce the iodate in the film of the tube to molecular iodine, I2. This reaction positions photosensitized reactions as a pathway by which iodate from particles recycles to the gas-phase, and warrants further investigation.