threo-1-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)-2-(2-methoxy-phenoxy)-1,3-propanediol

In the crystals of the lignin model, threo-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)-1,3-propanediol, C18H22O6, the molecules adopt a conformation in which the C-aryl...C-aryl distance between the bulky 2-methoxyphenyl and 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl groups, 4.871 (3) degrees, is very close to the calculated maximum value, 4.88 degrees. The torsion angle between the 2-methoxyphenoxy group and the 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl group is 176.02 (19)degrees. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding between benzylic hydroxyl groups results in a helical arrangement of the molecules in the crystals.