Abstract
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.