Reactions of 9,10-phenanthrenequinone and its nitro derivatives with acetone in the presence of Al2O3

The addition of acetone to 9,10-phenanthrenequinone and 2-nitro-, 2,7-dinitro-, and 2,4,7-trinitro-9,10-phenatithrenequinones in the presence of Al2O3 affords mono- and bisadducts. The crystal structures of 10-hydroxy-10-(2-oxopropyl)-2-nitro-9,10-dihydrophenanthren-9-one and 9,10″:10,9″-bishemiketal of 9,10-dihydroxy-2-nitro-9,10-bis(2-oxopropyl)-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene were determined.