Starch is often used in chemistry as

an indicator for redox titrations where triiodide is

present. Starch forms a very dark blue-
black complex with triiodide which can be made by
mixing iodine with iodide (often from potassium
iodide). However, the complex is not formed if only
iodine or only iodide (I-) is present. The colour of the
starch complex is so deep, that it can be detected
visually when the concentration of the iodine is as low
as 0.00002 M at 20 °C. The colour sensitivity
decreases with increasing temperature (ten times less
sensitive at 50 °C), and upon the addition of organic
solvents such as ethanol or propanone. During iodine
titrations, concentrated iodine solutions must be
reacted with some titrant, often thiosulfate, in order to
remove most of the iodine before the starch is added.
This is due to the insolubility of the starch-iodine
complex which may prevent some of the iodine
reacting with the titrant. Close to the end-point, the
starch is added, and the titration process is resumed
taking into account the amount of thiosulfate added
before adding the starch.
To prepare starch indicator solution, add 1 gram of
starch (either corn or potato) into 10 mL of distilled
water, shake well, and pour into 100 mL of boiling,
distilled water. Stir thoroughly and boil for a 1 minute.
Leave to cool down. If the precipitate forms, decant
the supernatant and use as the indicator solution. To
make solution long lasting add a pinch of mercury
iodide or salicylic acid, otherwise it can spoil after a
few days.

How does starch indicate iodine?

What properties of starch (given its chemical
structure) allow it to be used as an indicator?
When starch is mixed with iodine in water, an
intensely colored starch/iodine complex is formed.
Many of the details of the reaction are still unknown.
But it seems that the iodine (in the form of I5- ions)
gets stuck in the coils of beta amylose molecules
(beta amylose is a soluble starch). The starch forces
the iodine atoms into a linear arrangement in the
central groove of the amylose coil. There is some
transfer of charge between the starch and the iodine.
That changes the way electrons are confined, and so,
changes spacing of the energy levels. The
iodine/starch complex has energy level spacings that
are just so for absorbing visible light- giving the
complex its intense blue color. The complex is very
useful for indicating redox titrations that involve iodine
because the color change is very sharp. It can also be
used as a general redox indicator: when there is
excess oxidizing agent, the complex is blue; when
there is excess reducing agent, the I5- breaks up into
iodine and iodide and the color disappears.

http://id.scribd.com/doc/105000688/STPM-Chemistry-
Practical-Experiment-3-2012-Semester-1