Direct 355 or 532 nm light excitation of TBAI3, where TBA is tetrabutyl ammonium, in CH3CN at room temperature yields an iodine atom, I?, and an iodine radical anion, I2??. In the presence of excess iodide, the iodine atom reacts quantitatively to yield a second equivalent of I2?? with a rate constant of k = 2.5 ± 0.4 ? 1010 M?1 s?1. The I2?? intermediates are unstable with respect to disproportionation and yield initial reactants, k = 3.3 ± 0.1 ? 109 M?1 s?1. The coordination compound Ru(bpz)2(deeb)(PF6)2, where bpz is 2,2?-bipyrazine and deeb is 4,4?-(C2H5CO2)2-2,2?-bipyridine, was prepared and characterized for mechanistic studies of iodide photo-oxidation in acetonitrile at room temperature. Ru(bpz)2(deeb)2+ displayed a broad metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) absorption band at 450 nm with ε = 1.7 ? 104 M?1 cm?1. Visible light excitation resulted in photoluminescence with a corrected maximum at 620 nm, a quantum yield ? = 0.14, and an excited state lifetime τ = 1.75 ?s from which kr = 8.36 ? 104 s?1 and knr = 5.01 ? 105 s?1 were abstracted. Arrhenius analysis of the temperature dependent excited state lifetime revealed an activation energy of ?2500 cm?1 and a pre-exponential factor of 1010 s?1, assigned to activated surface crossing to a ligand field or MLCT excited state. Steady state light excitation of Ru(bpz)2(deeb)2+ in a 20 mM TBAI acetonitrile solution resulted in ligand loss photochemistry with a quantum yield of 5 ? 10?5. The MLCT excited state was dynamically quenched by iodide with Ksv = 1.1 ? 105 M?1 and kq = 6.6 ± 0.3 ? 1010 M?1 s?1, a value consistent with diffusion-limited electron transfer. Excited state hole transfer to iodide was quantitative but the product yield was low due to poor cage escape yields, ?CE = 0.042 ± 0.001. Nanosecond transient absorption was used to quantify the appearance of two photoproducts [Ru(bpz?)(bpz)(deeb)]+ and I2??. The coincidence of the rate constants for [Ru(bpz?)(bpz)(deeb)]+ formation and for excited state decay indicated reductive quenching by iodide. The rate constant for the appearance of I2?? was about a factor of 3 slower than excited state decay, k = 2.4 ± 0.2 ? 1010 M?1 s?1, indicating that I2?? was not a primary photoproduct of excited state electron transfer. A mechanism was proposed where an iodine atom was the primary photoproduct that subsequently reacted with iodide, I? + I? ? I2??. Charge recombination Ru(bpz?)(bpz)(deeb)+ + I2?? ? Ru(bpz)2(deeb)2+ + 2I? was highly favored, ?Go = ?1.64 eV, and well described by a second-order equal concentration kinetic model, kcr = 2.1 ± 0.3 ? 1010 M?1 s?1.