(±)-Cyclo­hexane-1,2-diyl bis­(4-nitro­benzoate)

The crystal structure of the title compound, C(20)H(18)N(2)O(8), has been investigated to establish the relative stereochemistry between the ester groups. The cyclo­hexane ring adopts a chair conformation, in which the two ester groups occupy the adjacent equatorial positions in a trans relationship with each other. The mol­ecules assemble in the crystal as chains along the c axis via C—H⋯π inter­actions between the cyclo­hexane ring and a pair of nitro­phenyl rings of the neighbouring mol­ecule. Also observed are π–π stacking inter­actions between the nitro­phenyl rings of neighbouring chains, with a perpendicular distance between these rings of 3.409 Å and a slippage of 0.969 Å.