Crystal structure of (E)-1,3-dimethyl-2-[3-(3-nitro­phen­yl)triaz-2-en-1-yl­idene]-2,3-di­hydro-1H-imidazole

The title compound, C(11)H(12)N(6)O(2), a π-conjugated triazene, crystallized with two independent mol­ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. Both mol­ecules have an E conformation about the –N=N– bond and have slightly twisted overall conformations. In mol­ecule A, the imidazole ring is inclined to the benzene ring by 8.12 (4)°, while in mol­ecule B the two rings are inclined to one another by 7.73 (4)°. In the crystal, the independent mol­ecules are linked to each other by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming –A–A–A– and –B–B–B– chains along [100]. The chains are linked by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming sheets lying parallel to (001). The sheets are linked by further C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.5243 (5) Å; involving the imidazole ring of mol­ecule A and the benzene ring of mol­ecule B], forming a three-dimensional framework structure.