Reactions of Metal Atoms. III. The Combination of Mercury and Iodine Atoms and the Spectrum of HgI

The combination reaction of mercury atoms with iodine atoms from the direct photolysis of CF₃I has been studied. The ${}^2{\pi }_{\text{1/2}}^{\text{−2}}\Sigma$ system of the HgI transient was observed by kinetic absorption spectroscopy, and analysis of this system led to the following constants: $T_e\text{\hspace{0.17em}=\hspace{0.17em}32 732}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\text{−1}}{\mathrm{,\; \omega }}_e\text{′\hspace{0.17em}=\hspace{0.17em}236}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\text{−1}}$ , and ${\omega }_e\text{″\hspace{0.17em}=\hspace{0.17em}125.5}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\text{−1}}$ . A value of 3538 cm⁻¹ was obtained for the doublet splitting. This value is compared with those found for the other mercury halide diatomics, and the nature of the transition involved is discussed.