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

The title compound, C(12)H(6)N(4), 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)†à ] inter-actions, resulting in the formation of a supra-molecular framework.