The effect of hydrogen bonding on the conformations of 2‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐2‐oxoacetamide and 2‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐N,N‐dimethyl‐2‐oxoacetamide

In the title compounds, C₁₀H₈N₂O₂, (I), and C₁₂H₁₂N₂O₂, (II), the two carbonyl groups are oriented with torsion angles of −149.3 (3) and −88.55 (15)°, respectively. The single‐bond distances linking the two carbonyl groups are 1.528 (4) and 1.5298 (17) Å, respectively. In (I), the molecules are linked by an elaborate system of N—H...O hydrogen bonds, which form adjacent R²₂(8) and R⁴₂(8) ring motifs to generate a ladder‐like construct. Adjacent ladders are further linked by N—H...O hydrogen bonds to build a three‐dimensional network. The hydrogen bonding in (II) is far simpler, consisting of helical chains of N—H...O‐linked molecules that follow the 2₁ screw of the b axis. It is the presence of an elaborate hydrogen‐bonding system in the crystal structure of (I) that leads to the different torsion angle for the orientation of the two adjacent carbonyl groups from that in (II).