2,2′-(2,6-Pyridinedi­yl)diquinoline

The title mol­ecule, C(23)H(15)N(3), is a terpyridine derivative resulting from the Friedländer annulation between 2,6-diacetyl­pyridine and N,N′-bis­(2-amino­benz­yl)ethyl­ene­di­amine. The asymmetric unit contains one half-mol­ecule, the complete mol­ecule being generated by a mirror plane (one N atom and one C atom lie on the plane). The mol­ecule, although aromatic, is deformed from planarity as a result of crystal packing forces: mol­ecules are stacked along the short c axis, with a short separation of 3.605 (1) Å between the mean planes. The bent mol­ecular shape is reflected in the dihedral angle of 16.10 (5)° between the essentially planar quinoline groups. In addition to π⋯π inter­actions, the crystal structure features weak inter-stack C—H⋯N contacts involving atoms of the central pyridine rings which lie in a common crystallographic m plane.