The crystal structure of the title compound, named [2,2′-bi-1H-indene]-1,1′-dione-3,3′-dihydroxyl-3,3′-dicyclohexyl (I), has been determined by X-ray crystallographic techniques. The photoinduced radical and photochromic behavior of I has also been investigated in the single crystalline phase. However, we failed to identify the magnetic interaction of the photogenerated isomer for the reason of the weak signal on the magnetometer. This may be related to the distance of the intermolecular carbonyl groups in the crystal structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]