Hydrogen bonding in meso‐4,5‐diphenyl‐3,6‐diaza­octane‐1,8‐diol: the formation of one‐dimensional linear chains of edge‐fused rings

The molecule of the title compound, C₁₈H₂₄N₂O₂, resides on a crystallographic inversion centre. The mol­ecule adopts a transoid conformation with respect to the central C—C single bond and is in the meso form. A polarimetric study of the compound did not show any optical activity, indicating that the compound is a racemic mixture entirely consistent with the centrosymmetric space group. In the mol­ecule, there is one intra­molecular N—H⋯O inter­action, resulting in the formation of a five‐membered ring. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular O—H⋯N and C—H⋯O inter­actions are also observed. These inter­actions form an R₂²(9) ring and one‐dimensional linear chains of edge‐fused rings running parallel to the [010] direction, which stabilize the crystal packing.