The reductive cyclisation of 4, 6-dimethyl and 4, 6-dichloro derivatives of 3-hydroxy-2'- nitrodiphenyl ethers has been examined as a potential route to 1H-phenoxazinones. Unexpectedly, cyclisation of the dichloro compound proceeded with loss of a Cl and yielded 2-chloro-3H-phenoxazin-3-one. The cyclisation of a range of analogous substrates has been investigated and shown to provide novel and convenient syntheses of 3-amino- ...