Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Iodine purchasing

highpower48 - 2-5-2017 at 09:07

I am in the need of around 100 grams of elemental Iodine. I know I can make it, I have in the past. But the cost of potassium iodine is more than it costs to order it from China.

Guess my question is, by purchasing it from eBay from overseas, would this amount make me subject to any government interest? Thanks

[Edited on 2-5-2017 by highpower48]

ninhydric1 - 2-5-2017 at 15:57

You could use iodine tincture instead. React iodine tincture with hydrochloric acid to convert the KI in the tincture to HI, then add hydrogen peroxide to precipitate the iodine. Make sure there is a lot of water in the solution, otherwise the iodine won't precipitate out as well.

NileRed also has a video of extracting iodine from iodine-povidone solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNf8PSda7iI

Making iodine yourself is probably the easiest, fastest way of obtaining iodine. Purchasing iodine should be a last resort, as you don't want government officials knocking on your door.

Melgar - 2-5-2017 at 16:44

Quote:
React iodine tincture with hydrochloric acid to convert the KI in the tincture to HI, then add hydrogen peroxide to precipitate the iodine.

That's not an accurate description though. In an ionic solution, there aren't discrete substances like HI and KI, there's just a bunch of positive and negative ions. You also shouldn't add another halogen if it can be avoided, since they can form complexes with each other that can greatly complicate purification. You just need to acidify the KI solution, and then add peroxide. Just about any other acid works. The H+ ions will then promote the H2O2 oxidation of iodide into iodine.

OP: Take it from someone who's been questioned by the police three times, if you're not going to use that iodine for any criminal activities, ordering it from China isn't going to get you arrested. Possession of list I precursors is only a crime if intent can be proven, since it's the sale, not the possession that's most strongly regulated by the government. It's also important to not LOOK suspicious, which you can do by labeling all your containers, cleaning all your glassware shortly after using it, and keeping a lab notebook with a record of your experiments in it. Of course, this is dealing with federal agents; state laws often vary considerably.

ninhydric1 - 2-5-2017 at 17:34

Well, then my source of information must've been incorrect :(