Supramolecular aggregation in three 4‐aryl‐6‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐3‐methyl‐1‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridine‐5‐carbonitriles

Both 6‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐3‐methyl‐4‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐1‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridine‐5‐carbonitrile and 6‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐3‐methyl‐4‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐1‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridine‐5‐carbonitrile crystallize from dimethylformamide solutions as stoichiometric 1:1 solvates, viz. C₂₉H₂₁N₅·C₃H₇NO, (I), and C₂₉H₂₁N₅O·C₃H₇NO, (II), respectively; however, 6‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐3‐methyl‐1‐phenyl‐4‐(3,4,5‐trimethoxyphenyl)‐1H‐pyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridine‐5‐carbonitrile, C₃₁H₂₅N₅O₃, (III), crystallizes in the unsolvated form. The heterocyclic components of (I) are linked by C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds to form cyclic centrosymmetric dimers, from which the solvent molecules are pendent, linked by N—H...O hydrogen bonds. In (II), the heterocyclic components are linked by a combination of C—H...N and C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds into chains containing two types of centrosymmetric ring, and the pendent solvent molecules are linked to these chains by N—H...O hydrogen bonds. Molecules of (III) are linked into simple C(12) chains by an N—H...O hydrogen bond, and these chains are weakly linked into pairs by an aromatic π–π stacking interaction.