Structures of S-(pyridin-2-yl) 4-nitro­benzo­thio­ate, S-(pyridin-2-yl) 4-methyl­benzo­thio­ate and S-(pyridin-2-yl) 4-meth­oxy­benzo­thio­ate: building blocks for low-symmetry multifunctional tetra­pyrroles

The crystal structures of three S-(pyridin-2-yl) benzo­thio­esters with varying para-phenyl substituents are presented, namely, S-(pyridin-2-yl) 4-nitro­benzo­thio­ate (1, C(12)H(8)N(2)O(3)S), S-(pyridin-2-yl) 4-methyl­benzo­thio­ate (2, C(13)H(11)NO(2)S) and S-(pyridin-2-yl) 4-meth­oxy­benzo­thio­ate (3, C(13)H(11)NO(2)S). This class of compounds are used in the mono-acyl­ation of pyrrolic species to yield multifunctional tetra­pyrroles. The structures presented herein are the first of their compound class. The dominant inter­actions present in this series are π–π stacking and C—H⋯O inter­actions, and as the para-phenyl motif changes from electron withdrawing (NO(2), 1) to electron donating (OCH(3), 3), changes are observed in the inter­actions present in the crystal packing, from predominant π–π stacking in 1 to exclusively C—H⋯O/N inter­actions (C(ar­yl)—H⋯O(carbon­yl), C—H⋯O(meth­oxy) and C(ar­yl)—H⋯N(pyridine)) in 3.