The Origin of Thermochromic Behavior in Distibines: Still an Open Question

A detailed structural investigation of Sb2Et4 using an in situ crystallization technique clearly shows that thermochromic behavior of distibines cannot be solely attributed to the formation of intermolecular Sb center dot center dot center dot Sb interactions in the solid state. Both the yellow and the red phase of Sb2Et4 showed almost identical bond lengths and angles including rather short intermolecular Sb center dot center dot center dot Sb bond distances.