(2-Methylphenyl)(phenyl)methanol

In the title compound, C14H14O, the two benzene rings are almost orthogonal [dihedral angle = 87.78 (8) °]. The hydroxy group lies approximately in the plane of its attached benzene ring [O—C—C—C torsion angle = −17.47 (17)°], and the hydroxyl and methyl groups lie to the same side of the molecule and are gauche to each other. In the crystal, a hexameric aggregate mediated by a ring of six O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds occurs, generating an R 6 6(12) loop.

In the title compound, C 14 H 14 O, the two benzene rings are almost orthogonal [dihedral angle = 87.78 (8) ]. The hydroxy group lies approximately in the plane of its attached benzene ring [O-C-C-C torsion angle = À17.47 (17) ], and the hydroxyl and methyl groups lie to the same side of the molecule and are gauche to each other. In the crystal, a hexameric aggregate mediated by a ring of six O-HÁ Á ÁO hydrogen bonds occurs, generating an R 6 6 (12) loop.
HSY thanks the University of Mysore for research facilities and for sabbatical leave. BPS thanks R. L. Fine Chemicals for the gift of the title compound. The authors are also grateful to the University of Malaya for support of the crystallographic facility.

Comment
Benzhydrols are widely used as intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals (Ohkuma et al., 2000), including drugs such as diphenhydramine, orphenadrine, diphenidol and phenyltoloxamine. The crystal structures and hydrogen bonding in some diphenylmethanols have been reported (Ferguson et al., 1995). The title compound, phenyl-o-tolyl-methanol, (I), is a derivative of diphenylmethanol and it has use in the perfume and pharmaceutical industries (Meguro et al., 1985).
The molecular structure of (I), Fig. 1, features a tertiary C7 atom connected to benzene and o-tolyl rings. With reference to the benzene ring, the O1 atom is nearly co-planar as seen in the O1-C8-C9-C14 torsion angle of -17.47 (17)

Experimental
The title compound was obtained as a gift from R. L. Fine Chemicals, Bangalore, India. Colourless blocks of (I) were obtained by the slow evaporation of its acetonitrile solution; m.pt. 369-372 K.