2,2-Dimethyl-2,3-dihydropyrano[2,3-a]carbazol-4(11H)-one

The title compound, C17H15NO2, was prepared from 1-hydroxycarbazole and 3,3-dimethylacrylic acid with a mixture of AlCl3 and POCl3 as the cyclization catalyst. Owing to the presence of the –CMe2– group, the molecule is not quite planar. In the crystal structre, strong N—H...O hydrogen bonds and weaker C—H...π interactions occur, and a slipped π–π stacking interaction [centroid–centroid separation = 3.8425 (8) ] is also observed.