The 1:1 proton‐transfer compounds of 4‐(phenyldiazenyl)aniline (aniline yellow) with 3‐nitrophthalic, 4‐nitrophthalic and 5‐nitroisophthalic acids

The structures of the anhydrous 1:1 proton‐transfer compounds of the dye precursor aniline yellow [4‐(phenyldiazenyl)aniline], namely isomeric 4‐(phenyldiazenyl)anilinium 2‐carboxy‐6‐nitrobenzoate, C₁₂H₁₂N₃⁺·C₈H₄NO₆⁻, (I), and 4‐(phenyldiazenyl)anilinium 2‐carboxy‐4‐nitrobenzoate, C₁₂H₁₂N₃⁺·C₈H₄NO₆⁻, (II), and 4‐(phenyldiazenyl)anilinium 3‐carboxy‐5‐nitrobenzoate monohydrate, C₁₂H₁₂N₃⁺·C₈H₄NO₆⁻·H₂O, (III), have been determined at 130 K. In (I) the cation has longitudinal rotational disorder. All three compounds have substructures comprising backbones formed through strong head‐to‐tail carboxyl–carboxylate hydrogen‐bond interactions [graph set C(7) in (I) and (II), and C(8) in (III)]. Two‐dimensional sheet structures are formed in all three compounds by the incorporation of the 4‐(phenyldiazenyl)anilinium cations into the substructures, including, in the cases of (I) and (II), infinite H—N—H to carboxylate O—C—O group interactions [graph set C(6)], and in the case of (III), bridging through the water molecule of solvation. The peripheral alternating aromatic ring residues of both cations and anions give only weakly π‐interactive step features which lie between the sheets.