Dissociation of I2 and the vibrational kinetics in the oxygen-iodine medium

The comparative analysis of the processes responsible for dissociation of molecular iodine in the oxygen-iodine medium is made. The rate of relaxation of vibrationally excited oxygen in the O₂ — I₂ — H₂O medium is shown to be limited by the VV energy exchange between oxygen and water molecules, and the fraction of vibrationally excited O₂ (ν = 1) in the active medium of the oxygen-iodine laser can reach several tens of percent. It is noted that the VV exchange in O₂(¹Δ,ν = 1)+I(²P_3/2) ↔ O₂(³Σ,ν = 1)+I(²P_1/2) reaction may be of considerable importance in the kinetics of formation of the active medium in the oxygen-iodine laser.