Crystal structure of benzimidazolium salicylate

In the anion of the title mol­ecular salt, C(7)H(7)N(2) (+)·C(7)H(5)O(3) (−) (systematic name: 1H-benzimidazol-3-ium 2-hy­droxy­ben­zo­ate), there is an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond that generates an S(6) ring motif. The CO(2) group makes a dihedral angle of 5.33 (15)° with its attached ring. In the crystal, the dihedral angle between the benzimidazolium ring and the anion benzene ring is 75.88 (5)°. Two cations bridge two anions via two pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, enclosing an R (4) (4)(16) ring motif, forming a four-membered centrosymmetric arrangement. These units are linked via C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along the b-axis direction. The chains are linked by C—H⋯π and π–π inter­actions [inter-centroid distances = 3.4156 (7) and 3.8196 (8) Å], forming a three-dimensional structure.