2-Methyl-4-nitro-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-1H-imidazole

In the title compound, C10H8N4O4, two planar fragments, viz. the imidazole and nitrophenyl rings, are tilted at a dihedral of 57.89 (7)°. The nitro groups are twisted with respect to the neighbouring ring planes; the dihedral angle is 7.0 (3)° for imidazole and 9.68 (8)° for benzene. The crystal structure consists of centrosymmetric dimers generated by C—H...O hydrogen bonds, which are connected by C—H...N hydrogen bonds into rows along the [001] direction. The neighbouring rows are connected via C—H...O interactions into a two-dimensional network in the bc plane.