N,N,N'-Trimethyl-N''-(4-nitro-phen-yl)-N'-phenyl-guanidine

The C-N bond lengths in the guanidine unit of the title compound, C16H18N4O2, are 1.298 (2), 1.353 (2) and 1.401 (3) Å, indicating double- and single-bond character. The N-C-N angles are 115.81 (16), 118.90 (18) and 125.16 (18)°, showing a deviation of the CN3 plane from an ideal trigonal-planar geometry. In the crystal, C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed between the methyl- and aromatic-H atoms and nitro-O atoms. One H atom of the phenyl ring and of the NMe2 group associate with the O atoms of the nitro group, giving chains along the a- and b-axis directions. Cross-linking of these two chains results in a two-dimensional network along bc.