The crystal structure of the title compound, [Co(NCS)2(C2H3N)2(C12H9NO)2], consists of cobalt(II) cations that are octa-hedrally coordinated by the N atoms of two terminal thio-cyanate anions, two aceto-nitrile mol-ecules and two 4-benzoyl-pyridine ligands. The discrete complexes are located on centres of inversion. They are connected by weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O and C-H⋯S hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between one of the pyridine H atoms and the carbonyl O atom, and between one of the methyl H atoms of the aceto-nitrile mol-ecule and the thio-cyanate S atoms into layers parallel to (101). No pronounced inter-molecular inter-actions are observed between these layers.
Keywords: 4-benzoylpyridine; cobalt(II) thiocyanate; crystal structure; discrete complex; hydrogen bonding.