Abstract The interaction of arylbis (5, 5-dimethylcyclohexane-1, 3-dion-2-yl) methanes with o- phenylenediamine and o-aminophenol leads to the preparation of 3, 3-dimethyl-11-aryl-2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11-hexahydrobenzo [b, e]-1, 4-diazepin-1-ones and 3, 3, 6, 6-tetramethyl-9-aryl-10- (2-hydroxyphenyl)-2, 4, 5, 7, 9-decahydroacridine-1, 8-diones respectively. A one-pot method is proposed for the synthesis of derivatives of hexahydrodibenzo [b, e]-1, 4- ...