Re-examination of the role of O2(b) in the I2 dissociation mechanism

Dissociation of I 2 by O 2 (b) is a process that is potentially important in iodine laser systems that are driven by discharge and chemical singlet oxygen generators. Recent work on the quenching of singlet oxygen by I2 suggests that the accepted upper bound of 2 (b) + I 2 → O 2 (X) + 2I may be too low. New measurements of the branching fraction have been carried out using transient diode laser absorption technique to monitor I atom formation. The results indicate that the branching fraction may be as high as 0.6.