<P> Potassium iodide is ionic, K I. It crystallises in the sodium chloride structure . It is produced industrially by treating KOH with iodine . </P> <P> It is a white salt, which is the most commercially significant iodide compound, with approximately 37,000 tons produced in 1985 . It absorbs water less readily than sodium iodide, making it easier to work with . </P> <P> Aged and impure samples are yellow because of the slow oxidation of the salt to potassium carbonate and elemental iodine . </P> <Dl> <Dd> 4 KI + 2 CO + O → 2 K CO + 2 I </Dd> </Dl>

The properties of potassium and iodine with the compound kl