3,3′‐Dinitro‐2,2′‐dithiodipyridine

In the title compound, C₁₀H₆N₄O₄S₂, (I), the molecule has a centre of inversion. The structure is a positional isomer of 5,5′‐dinitro‐2,2′‐dithiodipyridine [Brito, Mundaca, Cárdenas, López‐Rodríguez & Vargas (2007). Acta Cryst. E 63 , o3351–o3352], (II). The 3‐nitropyridine fragment of (I) shows excellent agreement with the bonding geometries of (II). The most obvious differences between them are in the S—S bond length [2.1167 (12) Å in (I) and 2.0719 (11) Å in (II)], and in the C—C_ipso—N_ring [119.8 (2)° in (I) and 123.9 (3)° in (II)] and S—C—C [122.62 (18)° in (I) and 116.0 (2)° in (II)] angles. The crystal structure of (I) has an intramolecular C—H...O interaction, with an H...O distance of 2.40 (3) Å, whereas this kind of interaction is not evident in (II). The molecules of (I) are linked into centrosymmetric R⁴₄(30) motifs by a C—H...O interaction. There are no aromatic π–π stacking and no C—H...π(arene) interactions. Compound (I) can be used as a nucleophilic tecton in self‐assembly reactions with metal centres of varying lability.