Nine tetraalkylammonium salts, with R 5 Me, Et, n Pr and n Bu, of four different carboxylic acids, namely isophthalic acid, 5-nitroisophthalic acid, trimesic acid and pyromellitic acid (1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid), have been prepared and their supramolecular structures analyzed by X-ray crystallography. The [RCOOH· · ·HOOCR] homodimeric motif characteristic for carboxylic acids has not been detected, but instead, in all compounds a [RCOOH· · ·OOCR] 2 unit was present. The hydrogen-bonding geometries and interaction energies of the different discrete and water-expanded hydrogen-bonding patterns formed between the carboxyl and the carboxylate group have been analyzed systematically by theoretical calculations at the MP2/6-31G(d,p) level of theory.Carboxylates are promising candidates for crystal engineering and [OZH· · ·O] 2 interactions play an important role for the structural organization and chemistry of biomolecules.