Short S...O contacts: structure of 2,5-bis(p-methoxyphenylhydroxymethyl)thiophene.

C20H20O4S, Mr = 356.4, monoclinic, P2(1)/c, a = 5.045 (3), b = 29.115 (7), c = 11.924 (2) A, beta = 94.82 (3) degrees, V = 1745.2 A3, Z = 4, Dx = 1.357 g cm-3, lambda(Cu K alpha) = 1.5418 A, mu = 17.86 cm-1, F(000) = 752, T = 298 K, R = 0.038, wR = 0.044 for 1212 reflections, I greater than 3 sigma(I). In the crystal, the molecule adopts a conformation in which one of the two hydroxymethyl fragments is synplanar to S and the other is anticlinal to S. Although the two fragments are otherwise equivalent, the C-C-O bond angles in the two hydroxymethyl fragments are significantly different from each other [106.7 (3) and 110.7 (3) degrees]. The decrease of 4 degrees in the bond angle is for the C-C-OH fragment that makes a short S...O contact and must indicate a non-bonded attractive interaction between the two atoms.