4-Dimethylamino-β-nitrostyrene and 4-dimethylamino-β-ethyl-β-nitrostyrene at 100 K

Abstract

The structures of 4-dimethyl­amino-β-nitro­styrene (DANS), C10H12N2O2, and 4-dimethyl­amino-β-ethyl-β-nitro­styrene (DAENS), C12H16N2O2, have been solved at T = 100 K. The structure solution for DANS was complicated by the presence of a static disorder, characterized by a misorientation of 17% of the mol­ecules. The mol­ecule of DANS is almost planar, indicating significant conjugation, with a push–pull effect through the styrene skeleton extending up to the terminal substituents and enhancing the dipole moment. As a consequence of this conjugation, the hexa­gonal ring displays a quinoidal character; the lengths of the C—N [1.3595 (15) Å] and C—C [1.448 (2) Å] bonds adjacent to the benzene ring are shorter than single bonds. The mol­ecules are stacked in dimers with anti­parallel dipoles. In contrast, the mol­ecule of DAENS is not planar. The ethyl substituent pushes the nitro­propene group out of the benzene plane, with a torsion angle of −21.9 (3). Nevertheless, the mol­ecule remains conjugated, with a shortening of the same bonds as in DANS.