The crystal structures of benzyl­ammonium phenyl­acetate and its hydrate

The title compounds benzyl­ammonium phenyl­acetate, C(7)H(10)N(+)·C(8)H(7)O(2) (−) (1), and its monohydrate, C(7)H(10)N(+)·C(8)H(7)O(2) (−)·H(2)O (2), can be obtained by evaporating methano­lic solutions containing equimolar amounts of benzyl­amine and phenyl­acetic 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 hydro­philic 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 carboxyl­ate 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 hydro­phobic layers in the crystal structures with the aromatic rings adopting edge-to-face arrangements.