A 1:2 co-crystal of 2,2'-di-thiodi-benzoic acid and benzoic acid: crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and computational study.

The asymmetric unit of the title 1:2 co-crystal, C14H10O4S2·2C7H6O2, comprises half a mol-ecule of di-thiodi-benzoic acid [systematic name: 2-[(2-carb-oxy-phen-yl)disulfan-yl]benzoic acid, DTBA], as the mol-ecule is located about a twofold axis of symmetry, and a mol-ecule of benzoic acid (BA). The DTBA mol-ecule is twisted about the di-sulfide bond [the C-S-S-C torsion angle is -83.19 (8)°] resulting in a near perpendicular relationship between the benzene rings [dihedral angle = 71.19 (4)°]. The carb-oxy-lic acid group is almost co-planar with the benzene ring to which it is bonded [dihedral angle = 4.82 (12)°]. A similar near co-planar relationship pertains for the BA mol-ecule [dihedral angle = 3.65 (15)°]. Three-mol-ecule aggregates are formed in the crystal whereby two BA mol-ecules are connected to a DTBA mol-ecule via hy-droxy-O-H⋯O(hydroxy) hydrogen bonds and eight-membered {⋯HOC=O}2 synthons. These are connected into a supra-molecular layer in the ab plane through C-H⋯O inter-actions. The inter-actions between layers to consolidate the three-dimensional architecture are π-π stacking inter-actions between DTBA and BA rings [inter-centroid separation = 3.8093 (10) Å] and parallel DTBA-hy-droxy-O⋯π(BA) contacts [O⋯ring centroid separation = 3.9049 (14) Å]. The importance of the specified inter-actions as well as other weaker contacts, e.g. π-π and C-H⋯S, are indicated in the analysis of the calculated Hirshfeld surface and inter-action energies.