Bis(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)amino 4-methylbenzenesulfonate: a new member of the ( RSO2)ON(SO2 R)2 family.

The title compound, C21H21NO7S3, consists of an SO2ON(SO2)2 central fragment and three terminal 4-methylphenyl groups each attached at a sulfonyl S atom. The most obvious characteristic is the presence of two nearly face-to-face benzene rings, with their centroids separated by a rather short distance [3.7808 (18) Å], but with a rather slanted relative orientation [dihedral angle = 20.63 (13)°] so as to preclude a strong intramolecular π-π interaction. The third benzene ring is nearly perpendicular to the other two [dihedral angles = 71.62 (14) and 70.4 (13)°]. The packing of the structure is directed by two C-H...O hydrogen bonds involving aromatic H atoms (methyl H atoms are strictly non-interacting), which define chains running in the [100] direction. These one-dimensional chains evolve parallel to each other and exhibit no significant lateral interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]