Redox chemistry, catalysis, and electrochemical detection of periodate species: sensors, mechanisms, and applications in green chemistry

Periodate species, as potent oxidizing agents, are widely applied in environmental remediation, pharmaceutical synthesis, analytical chemistry, and advanced oxidation processes due to their superior redox and catalytic behaviors. Nowadays, periodate-mediated reactions are drawing more attention as a green and sustainable synthetic methodology in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) synthesis, organic pollution degradation, and fine chemicals transformation. As a result, developing sensitive, selective, and rapid analytical methods for periodate determination has gained significant attention. This review summarizes a detailed analysis of the chemistry, redox behavior, catalysis properties, and electrochemical determination of periodate species. A special emphasis is given to the most recent research progress on electrochemical sensing platforms for direct and indirect determination of periodate and periodate-reactive compounds, including alcohols, carbohydrates, amines, and amino acids, among others. In addition, electrochemical methods used for the determination of transition-metal catalysts in periodate-mediated catalytic systems are also included. Different electrochemical sensing platforms such as ion-selective membrane electrode, nanomaterial-modified glassy carbon electrode, noble-metal electrode, and perchlorate selective electrode are discussed, respectively, in combination with potentiometric, amperometric, and voltammetric techniques and analyzed in aspects of sensitivity, selectivity, detection limits, stability, and practicability. Additionally, the significance of periodate in green chemistry and wastewater treatment is described. Moreover, the challenges, mechanistic interpretations, and future outlook toward high-performance, portable, and nanostructured electrochemical sensors are presented.