Unlike other common periodates, such as sodium periodate and periodic acid, it is only available in the metaperiodate form; the corresponding potassium orthoperiodate (K5IO6) has never been reported.
The low solubility of KIO4 makes it useful for the determination of potassium[citation needed] and cerium. [2]
It is slightly soluble in water (one of the less soluble of potassium salts, owing to a large anion), giving rise to a solution that is slightly alkaline. On heating (especially with manganese(IV) oxide as catalyst), it decomposes to form potassium iodate, releasing oxygen gas.
^Riley, edited by Georg Brauer ; translated by Scripta Technica, Inc. Translation editor Reed F. (1963). Handbook of preparative inorganic chemistry. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). New York, N.Y.: Academic Press. p. 325. ISBN978-0121266011. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^M. Venugopalan and K. J. George: "Determination of cerium by potassium periodate" in Naturwissenschaften, 43(15), S. 348–349. doi:10.1007/BF00755157
^Al-Dhahir, T.A.; Dhanaraj, G.; Bhat, H.L. (June 1992). "Growth of alkali metal periodates from silica gel and their characterization". Journal of Crystal Growth. 121 (1–2): 132–140. Bibcode:1992JCrGr.121..132A. doi:10.1016/0022-0248(92)90182-I.