Crystal structure of 2,3'-bi-pyridine-2',6'-dicarbo-nitrile

The title compound, C12H6N4, crystallizes with four independent mol-ecules (A, B, C and D) in the asymmetric unit. The dihedral angles between the two pyridine rings in each mol-ecule are 25.25 (8)° in A, 5.51 (9)° in B, 11.11 (9)° in C and 16.24 (8)° in D. In the crystal, mol-ecules A and B are linked by C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds to form layers extending parallel to the ab plane, while mol-ecules C and D are linked by C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds forming -C-D-C-D- chains propagating along the b-axis direction. The layers and the chains are stacked alternately along the c axis through offset π-π and C≡N⋯π [N-to-pyridine-centroid distance = 3.882 (2) Å] inter-actions, resulting in the formation of a supra-molecular framework.