Properties of antimony triiodide photodecomposition and Lewis acidity

Abstract

Antimony triiodide is a versatile compound that is not studied in detail in the current Inorganic Chemistry literature at the undergraduate level. In this work we propose a simple microscale synthesis describing two other interesting properties which are not reported in the common chemical literature: photo-oxidation and acid–base reaction in non-aqueous media. The experiment can be successfully and safely achieved in a two-hour lab class at the sophomore level.