Variable-temperature UV-vis, 13 C NMR and IR studies showed that proton-transferred complexes were formed between phenols and amines in apolar solvents at low temperature. Upon cooling a solution of pnitrophenol and diisopropylamine in toluene, the colour of the solution changed from colourless to yellow. This thermochromism was ascribed to the proton transfer in the hydrogen-bonding complex. Under UV-vis conditions, butylamine and imidazole also caused similar thermochromism upon complexation with p-nitrophenol, while triethylamine, quinuclidine and pyridine did not. The thermochromic behaviour was particularly dependent on the stoichiometry of the amine and the phenol: a solution of 3,3'-dibromo-5,5'-dinitro-2,2'-biphenyldiol and diisopropylamine with a molar ratio of 1:1 showed no thermochromism, while solutions with 1:2 or higher ratios showed thermochromism, indicating that excess amine is required to obtain the proton-transferred species. These results revealed that the proton-transferred species forms in apolar solvents at low temperature if an appropriate hydrogen-bonding network between the phenol and the amine can stabilize it.