Effect of the solvent nature and the number of electrophilic substituents in the molecule on hydration of nitro derivatives of phenanthrene-9,10-quinone

Solvates (1 : 2) of 10,10-dihydroxy-2,4,7-trinitro-9,10-dihydrophenanthren-9-one with DMSO and of 10,10-dihydroxy-2,7-dinitro-9,10-dihydrophenanthren-9-one with HMPA were prepared. The crystal structure of 2,5-dinitrophenanthrene-9,10-quinone was established. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis and IR spectroscopy of a series of mono-, di-, and trinitro derivatives of phenanthrene-9,10-quinone demonstrated that the ability of carbonyl groups to participate in nucleophilic addition of water increases as the number of nitro groups in substituted phenanthrene-9,10-quinone increases. The nature of the solvent (HMPA, DMF, or DMSO) affects hydration of phenanthrenequinones primarily due to the difference in the strength of intermolecular hydrogen bonds stabilizing di- and tetrahydroxydihydrophenanthrenes.