Crystal structure of (2E,3E)-N2,N3-bis(3-ethyl-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)butane-2,3-diimine

In the title compound, C32H32N2, synthesized by the condensation reaction of 2-ethyl-4-phenylaniline and 2,3-butanedione, the conformation about the C=N bonds is E and the substituted biphenyl units are trans to one another. In the two biphenyl ring systems, the planes of the two rings are inclined to one another by 25.25 (19) and 28.01 (19)°. The planes of the ethyl-substituted benzene rings are inclined to one another by 20.23 (19)° and to the mean plane of the butane-2,3-diimine unit [maximum deviation = 0.014 (4) Å] by 83.19 (19) and 63.38 (19)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C—H...π interactions, forming sheets lying parallel to (101).