Crystal structure of 1-{4-[bis(4-methylphenyl)amino]phenyl}ethene-1,2,2-tricarbonitrile

The title compound, C25H18N4, crystallizes in the centrosymmetric ortho-rhom-bic space group Pbca, with eight mol-ecules in the unit cell. The main feature noticeable in the structure is the impact of the tri-cyano-vinyl (TCV) group in forcing partial planarity of the portion of the mol-ecule carrying the TCV group and directing the mol-ecular packing in the solid state, resulting in the formation of π-stacks of dimers within the unit cell. Short π-π stack closest atom-to-atom distances of 3.444 (15) Å are observed. Such motif patterns are favorable as they are thought to be conducive for better charge transport in organic semiconductors, which results in enhanced device performance. Intra-molecular charge transfer is evident from the shortening in the observed experimental bond lengths. The nitro-gen atoms (of the cyano groups) are involved in extensive short contacts, primarily through C-H⋯NC inter-actions with distances of 2.637 (17) Å.