Barium iodide is an inorganic compound

Inorganic compound

Inorganic compounds have traditionally been considered to be of inanimate, non-biological origin. In contrast, organic compounds have an explicit biological origin. However, over the past century, the classification of inorganic vs organic compounds has become less important to scientists,...

 with the formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....

 BaI₂. The compound exists both as an anhydrous and a hydrated forms. Both are white solids. When heated, hydrated barium iodide dehydrates and the anhydrous salt can be obtained. The structure of the anhydrous form resembles that of lead(II) chloride

Lead(II) chloride

Lead chloride is an inorganic compound which is a white solid under ambient conditions. It is poorly soluble in water. Lead chloride is one of the most important lead-based reagents...

, with each Ba center bound to nine iodide ligand

Ligand

In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding between metal and ligand generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electron pairs. The nature of metal-ligand bonding can range from...

s.

Reduction of BaI₂ with alkali metals affords barium; the analogous reaction of the barium chloride and bromide does not proceed. Barium iodide is toxic, as are most soluble compounds of barium.