The crystal structures of benzyl-ammonium phenyl-acetate and its hydrate

The title compounds benzyl-ammonium phenyl-acetate, C₇H₁₀N⁺·C₈H₇O₂ ^- (1), and its monohydrate, C₇H₁₀N⁺·C₈H₇O₂ ^-·H₂O (2), can be obtained by evaporating methano-lic solutions containing equimolar amounts of benzyl-amine and phenyl-acetic acid in the absence and presence of water, respectively. N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds in the crystal structure of 1 lead to the formation of hydro-philic channels running along the b-axis direction. The hydrogen-bonding system is best described by fused R ³ ₄(10) ring patterns, often observed in ammonium carboxyl-ate salts. In 2, the presence of the crystal water leads to the formation of a two-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network. The benzyl moieties in 1 and 2 form hydro-phobic layers in the crystal structures with the aromatic rings adopting edge-to-face arrangements.