Crystal structure of dimethyl 4,4′-dimethoxybiphenyl-3,3′-dicarboxylate

Abstract

In the title compound, C18H18O6, the benzene rings are coplanar due to the centrosymmetric nature of the molecule, with an inversion centre located at the midpoint of the C—C bond between the two rings. Consequently, the methyl carboxylate substituents are oriented in a trans fashion with regards to the bond between the benzene rings. The methyl carboxylate and methoxy substituents are rotated slightly out of plane relative to their parent benzene rings, with dihedral and torsion angles of 18.52 (8) and −5.22 (15)°, respectively. The shortest O...H contact between neighbouring molecules is about 2.5 Å. Although some structure-directing contributions from C—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions are possible, the crystal packing seems primarily directed by weak van der Waals forces.

Keywords

• crystal structure
• intermediate compound for organic linkers in MOF synthesis
• centrosymmetric molecule