Crystal structure of 2-ethyl-3-(4-fluorophenylsulfonyl)-5,7-dimethyl-1-benzofuran

In the title compound, C18H17FO3S, the dihedral angle between the plane of the benzofuran ring [r.m.s. deviation = 0.006 (1) angstrom] and that of the 4-fluorophenyl ring [r.m.s. deviation = 0.004 (1) angstrom] is 82.45 (4)degrees. In the crystal, molecules are linked via three different pairs of C-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [001] and enclosing two R-2(2)(10) and one R-2 (2)(12) ring motifs. The chains are further linked by pi-pi interactions [inter-centroid distance = 3.566 (1) angstrom] between the furan rings of inversion-related molecules, forming a twodimensional network lying parallel to (100).