(Z)-2,3-Dichloro-1,4-bis(4-chlorophenyl)but-2-ene-1,4-dione

Abstract

The title compound, C16H8Cl4O2, crystallizes with two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. Both molecules have aZconformation around the central double bond and they show significantly different C—C—C—O torsion angles between the aromatic ring and the carbonyl group [30.1 (7) and 3.9 (7)° in one molecule and 23.5 (7) and 9.3 (8)° in the other]. The crystal packing shows short halogen Cl...O [3.003 (5) and 3.246 (4) Å] and Cl...Cl [3.452 (2) Å] contacts and aromatic C—H...Cl and C—H...O interactions link the molecules, resulting in chains propogating along [100]. The crystal structure also features π–π stacking interactions between aromatic units of the two independent molecules, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.9264 (6) Å.