Energy-Transfer Processes in Monochromatically Excited Iodine Molecules. I. Experimental Results

The fluorescence excited in iodine by the green emission line of mercury, in the presence of foreign gases, has been examined by high‐resolution photoelectric photometry. Cross sections for quenching, vibrational, and rotational energy transfer for the v′ = 25, J′ = 34 level of the B ³Π_0u+ state of iodine have been obtained, for collisions with ³He, ⁴He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, H₂, O₂, CO₂, SO₂, CH₃Cl, and NH₃. Emission bands have been rotationally analyzed to yield partial total cross sections for the inelastic processes. These have been corrected for multiple scattering by a computer simulation procedure. The correlation of quenching efficiency with the mass and polarizability of the collision partner, found by Brown for the quenching of the v′ = 15 level of iodine, holds for the v′ = 25 level as well. There is no contribution to quenching efficiency from a permanent electric dipole moment. The data suggest that a complex set of interactions, including electrostatic polarization, spin—orbit forces, and specific chemical effects, are responsible for quenching, indicating a multiplicity of repulsive states contributing to the induced predissociation process. The vibrational energy‐transfer efficiency is maximum when the mean collision time equals the period of oscillation of the molecule, which corresponds to a collision reduced mass ≃40 for T = 370°K, v′ = 25 of I₂; vibrational transfer is largely independent of the internal structure of the collision partner. The efficiency of pure rotational energy transfer (Δv′ = 0) shows a similar smooth dependence on reduced mass of the collision system, with the exception of the molecules SO₂, CO₂, and CH₃Cl, which are more efficient. Quantitative measurements have been made on partial components of total inelastic cross sections for ΔJ′ up to ±20 angular momentum units, with evidence for a total spread of ΔJ′ up to 30 or 40. The width of the distribution of partial cross section components decreases in the order ${\mathrm{\Delta v}}^{\prime }\text{=+2>−2≳+1>−1≫0}$ ; also, the ΔJ′ distribution is broader for collisions with heavier particles.