Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of 2-(4-nitro-phen-yl)-2-oxoethyl benzoate.

The title com-pound, CHNO, is relatively planar, with the planes of the two aromatic rings being inclined to each other by 3.09 (5)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by a pair of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers, which enclose an (16) ring motif. The dimers are linked by a further pair of C-H⋯O hydrogen-bonds forming ribbons enclosing (26) ring motifs. The ribbons are linked by offset π-π inter-actions [centroid-centroid distances = 3.6754 (6)-3.7519 (6) Å] to form layers parallel to the plane. Through Hirshfeld surface analyses, the surfaces, electrostatic potential and two-dimensional fingerprint (FP) plots were examined to verify the contributions of the different inter-molecular contacts within the supra-molecular structure. The shape-index surface shows that two sides of the mol-ecule are involved with the same contacts in neighbouring mol-ecules, and the curvedness plot shows flat surface patches that are characteristic of planar stacking.