2,5-Bis[4-(dimethyl­amino)­phen­yl]-3,6-dimethyl­pyrazine

The title compound, C(22)H(26)N(4), was prepared from p-dimethyl­amino­propiophenone in six steps. The mol­ecule has no crystallographic symmetry. The dihedral angles between the pyrazine ring and the phenyl rings are 35.81 (6) and 37.11 (8)°. The dimethyl­amino groups are essentially planar (sum of the bond angles at N = 359.3 and 359.9°) and nearly coplanar with the adjacent aromatic ring [dihedral angles = 5.54 (11) and 7.40 (3)°]. This effect and the short aniline C—N bonds can be rationalised in terms of charge transfer from the amino groups to the central pyrazine ring.