(E)-Methyl 2-[(4-nitrophenyl)hydrazono]propanoate

The title compound, C10H11N3O4, is a condensation product of 4-nitrophenylhydrazine and methyl pyruvate. The complete molecule except for the methyl groups can be considered as a conjugated π system. All non-H atoms are approximately coplanar (r.m.s. deviation 0.117 Å). The crystal packing involves an N—H...O hydrogen bond and a π–π interaction between the aromatic rings, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.617 Å.