1-Ethyl 2-methyl 3,4-bis-(acet-yloxy)pyrrolidine-1,2-di-carboxyl-ate: crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and computational chemistry

The title compound, C13H19NO8, is based on a tetra-substituted pyrrolidine ring, which has a twisted conformation about the central C-C bond; the Cm-Ca-Ca-Cme torsion angle is 38.26 (15)° [m = methyl-carboxyl-ate, a = acet-yloxy and me = methyl-ene]. While the N-bound ethyl-carboxyl-ate group occupies an equatorial position, the remaining substituents occupy axial positions. In the crystal, supra-molecular double-layers are formed by weak methyl- and methyl-ene-C-H⋯O(carbon-yl) inter-actions involving all four carbonyl-O atoms. The two-dimensional arrays stack along the c axis without directional inter-actions between them. The Hirshfeld surface is dominated by H⋯H (55.7%) and H⋯C/C⋯H (37.0%) contacts; H⋯H contacts are noted in the inter-double-layer region. The inter-action energy calculations point to the importance of the dispersion energy term in the stabilization of the crystal.