A series of aromatic aldehydes are turned in to 3,3,6,6-tetramethyl-9-aryl-1,8-dioxooctahydroxanthene derivatives using trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) as the catalyst. (c) 2009 Firouzeh Nemati. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.