(E,E)-Methyl 2-[(3-nitrobenzylidene)aminomethyl]-3-phenylpropenoate

The mol-ecule of the title compound, C(18)H(16)N(2)O(4), adopts a T-shaped conformation with E stereochemistry for the imine double bond. The (3-nitro-benzyl-idene)amino fragment is almost planar, the mean planes of phenyl ring and nitro group forming a dihedral angle of 8.9 (3)°. In the 3-phenyl-acryloyl unit, the acrylic ester fragment is also almost planar, with the phenyl ring twisted by 41.44 (7)°. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are linked by C-H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter-actions into chains running parallel to [01].