Ethyl 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-p-tolyl-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C19H20N2O3, contains two molecules (A and B) with slightly different orientations of the ethyl groups with respect to the attached carboxylate groups. Intramolecular C—H...O hydrogen bonds generate S(8) ring motifs in both molecules A and B. In each molecule, the benzimidazole ring system is essentially planar, with maximum deviations of 0.023 (1) and 0.020 (1) Å, respectively, for molecules A and B. The dihedral angle between the benzimidazole ring system and the phenyl ring is 37.34 (5)° for molecule A and 42.42 (5)° for molecule B. In the crystal, O—H...N and C—H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into [100] columns with a cross-section of two-molecule by two-molecule wide, and further stabilization is provided by weak C—H...π and π–π interactions [centroid separations = 3.5207 (7) and 3.6314 (8) Å]