Crystal structure of 4-{2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]diazen-1-yl}-1-methylpyridinium iodide

The molecular geometry of the ionic title compound, C14H17N4+·I− or DAZOP+·I−, is essentially featureless. Regarding the crystal structure, in addition to the obvious cation–anion Coulombic interactions, the packing is mostly directed by non-covalent interactions involving both ring systems, as well as the iodide anion. It consists of cationic molecules aligned along [101] and disposed in an antiparallel fashion while linked into π-bonded dimeric entities by a stacking contact involving symmetry-related phenyl rings, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.468 (3) Å and a slippage of 0.951 Å. The dimers are, in addition, sustained by a number of C—H...I and I...π (I...centroid = 3.876 Å) interactions involving the anion. Finally, interdimeric contacts are of the C—H...I and C—H...π types