Iodine
Yodo (I, Z=53)
- Date
- 1811 · confidence high
- Place
- Paris, France
- Credited to
- Bernard Courtois
- People
- 👤 Bernard Courtois1777–1838
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Courtois, a saltpetre manufacturer, observed violet vapours when treating seaweed ash with sulfuric acid; Gay-Lussac and Davy characterised it as an element in 1813.
A dispute between Gay-Lussac and Davy over the elemental characterisation and the name.
What it led to
- Antiseptic and iodised salt against goitre
- The daguerreotype (silver iodide)
- Radioiodine in nuclear medicine
Built on
- Saltpetre industry
- Seaweed ash
Made possible
- Lugol's iodine1829
- Daguerreotype1839
- Iodised salt1922
- Iodine tincture