The missing crystal structure in the series of N,N',N''-tris-(pyridinyl)benzene-1,3,5-tricarbox-amides: the 2-pyridinyl derivative.

In the first reported crystal structure involving the potential ligand N,N',N''-tris-(pyridin-2--yl)benzene-1,3,5--tricarboxamide, C(24)H(18)N(6)O(3), inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules via their amide groups into slanted ladder-like chains, in which the uprights of the ladder are formed by the hydrogen-bonding inter-actions and the benzene ring cores of the mol-ecules act as the rungs of the ladder. Only two of the three amide groups in the mol-ecule are involved in hydrogen bonding and this influences the degree of out-of-plane twisting at each amide group, with the twist being more significant for those amide groups participating in hydrogen bonds.