Vitamin C can determine by acid-base reaction or oxidation-reduction
reaction. Vitamin C is a weak acid and a good reducing agent. Iodine is a
weak oxidizing agent, so that it will not oxidize substances other than the
ascorbic acid in the sample of fruit juice. As a strong reducing agent,
vitamin C will reduce I2 to I- very easily. The excess of iodine react the
starch as indicator to perform the amount of vitamin C is finishing in
redox reaction.
In this reaction, the ascorbic acid molecule gains oxygen (in the form of
OH groups). Each iodine atom in the I2 molecule accepts an electron and
become a negatively charge to form iodide ion. Thus that, the ascorbic
acid molecule was oxidized and the iodine molecule was reduced.
C6H8O6 + I2 + 2H2O C6H10O8 + 2I - + 2H+ …….equation 1
Excess iodine (I2) reacts with iodide ions (I-) to form triiodide ion (I3
-)
which forms a very intense blue color when it reacts starch. This colour is
due to incorporation of the ions within the molecular structure of the
starch.
I2 + I- → I3
- ………equation 2
To detect the end point, starch must be added at the beginning of the
titration in the conical flask. When all ascorbic acids have finished, the
excess of iodine solution will react the starch to form blue-black colour in
the solution.
I3
- + starch → starch (I3
-) complex …….equation 3