A pared-down gas-phase kinetics for the chemical oxygen-iodine laser medium

Highlight: • Chemical oxygen-iodine laser, I2 dissociation, vibrational excitation and relaxation, kinetic data. - Abstract: Kinetic data obtained in the last decade has resulted in revisions of some mechanisms of excitation and deactivation of excited states in the chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) medium. This review considers new kinetic data and presents analyses of the mechanisms of pumping and quenching of electronically and vibrationally excited states in the oxygen-iodine laser media. An effective three-level model of I2 molecule excitation and relaxation has been developed. The calculated effective rate constants for deactivation of I2(X,11 ⩽ υ ⩽ 24) by O2, N2, He and CO2 are presented. A simplified kinetic package for the COIL active medium is recommended. This model consists of a 30-reaction set with 14 species. The results of calculations utilizing simplified model are in good agreement with the experimental data