Iodic acid is a white water-soluble solid with the chemical formula HIO3. Its robustness contrasts with the instability of chloric acid and bromic acid. Iodic acid features iodine in the oxidation state +5 and is one of the most stable oxo-acids of the halogens. When heated, samples dehydrate to give iodine pentoxide. On further heating, the iodine pentoxide further decomposes, giving a mix of iodine and oxygen vapors.