Valyl benzyl ester chloride

In the title compound (systematic name: 1-benzyloxy-3-methyl-1-oxobutan-2-aminium chloride), C12H18NO2+·Cl−, the ester group is approximately planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.040 (2) Å from the least-squares plane, and makes a dihedral angle of 28.92 (16)° with the phenyl ring. The crystal structure is organized by N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds which join the two components into a chain along the b axis. Pairs of chains arranged antiparallel are interconnected by further N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds, forming eight-membered rings. Similar packing modes have been observed in a number of amino acid ester halides with a short unit-cell parameter of ca 5.5 Å along the direction in which the chains run