Crystal structure of a (carb-oxy-meth-yl)tri-ethyl-aza-nium bromide-2-(tri-ethyl-aza-n-ium-yl)acetate (1/1) hydrogen-bonded dimer.

The title compound, C 8 H 18 NO 2 + ·Br - ·C 8 H 17 NO 2 , crystallizes as the bromide salt of a 50:50 mixture of (tri-ethyl-azaniumyl)-carb-oxy-lic acid and the zwitterionic (tri-ethyl-azaniumyl)-carboxyl-ate. The two organic entities are linked by a half-occupied bridging carb-oxy-lic acid hydrogen atom that is hydrogen-bonded to the carboxyl-ate group of the second mol-ecule. The tetra-lkyl-ammonium group adopts a nearly perfect tetra-hedral shape around the nitro-gen atom with bond lengths that agree with known values. The carb-oxy-lic acid/carboxyl-ate group is oriented anti to one of the ethyl groups on the ammonium group, and the carbonyl oxygen atom is engaged in intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.