(2E)-3-(3-Nitrophenyl)-1-[4-(piperidin-1-yl) phenyl] prop-2-en-1-one

In the title compound, C20H20N2O3, the piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation and its mean plane forms dihedral angles of 19.63 (9) and 19.44 (9)degrees, respectively, with the benzene and the nitro-substituted benzene ring. The benzene and nitro-substituted benzene rings are almost coplanar and make a dihedral angle of 4.78 (8)degrees. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds into two-dimensional networks parallel to the ab plane. The crystal packing is further stabilized by pi-pi interactions [maximum centroid-centroid distance = 3.7807 (12) angstrom].