An efficient and versatile route to the synthesis of 9,10-dihydro-3-formylphenanthrenes

An innovative and efficient route to the synthesis of 9,10-dihydro-3-formylphenanthrenes 7 has been delineated through the ring transformation of 2-oxo-4-sec-amino-5,6-dihydro-2H-benzo[h]chromene-3-carbonitriles 4 with methyl glyoxaldimethylacetal 5 to masked 3-dimethoxymethyl-1-sec-amino-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-3-carbonitriles 6 followed by deacetalation with Amberlyst 15 in excellent yields.