1-Methyl-3-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium picrate

The title salt, C13H11N2O2 +·C6H2N3O7 -, is the unexpected product of a domino reaction of 3-cyanomethyl-1-methylimidazolium chloride with salicylic aldehyde in the presence of picric acid. In the cation, the 1H-imidazole ring is twisted by 63.2 (1)° from the 2H-chromen plane. In the crystal, cations and anions are alternately stacked along the a axis through π-π stacking interactions between the almost parallel aromatic rings [centroid-centroid distances = 3.458 (2) and 3.678 (2) Å]. The stacks are further linked by C - H⋯O hydrogen bonds into a two-tier layer parallel to (001). © Tuyen et al. 2013.