Potassium iodate approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a thyroid blocker, and the FDA has taken action against US websites that promote this use. Potassium iodate Potassium iodate (KIO) is a chemical compound. It is ionic, made up of K ions and IO ions in a 1:1 ratio. Potassium iodate is an oxidizing agent and as such it can cause fires if in contact with combustible materials or reducing agents. It can be prepared by reacting a potassium-containing base such as potassium hydroxide with iodic acid, for example: It can also be prepared by adding iodine
Chemical element Chemical element A chemical element is a species of atoms having the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei (that is, the same atomic number, or "Z"). For example, the atomic number of oxygen is 8, so the element oxygen consists of all atoms which have exactly 8 protons. 118 elements have been identified, of which the first 94 occur naturally on Earth with the remaining 24 being synthetic elements. There are 80 elements that have at least one stable isotope and 38 that have exclusively radionuclides, which decay over time into other elements. Iron is the most abundant