Group 15 elements antimonides

The very high thermal stability of compounds with the elements representative of the 15th to 16th groups such as the antimonides, tellurides, etc. may be underlined. 

Stibine. Sbl h, is formed by hydrolysis of some metal antimonides or reduction (with hydrogen produced by addition of zinc and HC1) of antimony compounds, as in the Gutzeit test. It is decomposed by aqueous bases, in contrast with arsine. It reacts with metals at higher temperatures to give the antimonides. The antimonides of elements of group la. 2a, and 3a usually are stoichiometric, with antimony trivalent. With other metals, the binary compounds are essentially intermetallic. with such exceptions as the nickel series, Ni. Sb.. NiSb, Ni5Sb2 and Ni4Sb. 

Metal arsenides, antimonides and bismuthides can be prepared by direct combination of the metal and group 15 element. Like the phosphides, classification is not simple, and structure types vary. Our coverage here is, therefore, selective... 

Similar to other binary / -p-element systems, the formation of binary rare earth- antimonides with a simple stoichiometry is a characteristic feature of these systems. The largest nrrmber of structure types formed was encormtered for the group of RSh2 compounds (4 members). The polymorphic modifications were observed for GdSb2 and TbSb2 as well as the / Sb (/ = La, Ce) and RsShs R = Yb, Y and Sc) componnds were noted to imdergo the solid state transformations. 

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