4,4′-Dimethyl-1,1′-(p-phenylenedimethylene)dipyridinium bis[7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethanide(1-)]

In the title salt, C(20)H(22)N(2)(2+)center dot 2C(12)H(4)N(4)(-), the cations and anions stack along the b axis into segregated columns. In the cation, which has a crystallographically imposed centre of symmetry, the dihedral angle between the benzene and pyridine rings is 89.14 (4)degrees. Centrosymmetrically related anions form dimers by pi-pi stacking interactions, with centroid-centroid separations of 3.874 (4) angstrom. The crystal packing is stabilized by intercolumnar C-H center dot center dot center dot N hydrogen bonds.