A structural study of (1RS,2SR,3RS,4SR,5RS)‐2,4‐dibenzoyl‐1,3,5‐triphenylcyclohexan‐1‐ol chloroform hemisolvate and (1RS,2SR,3RS,4SR,5RS)‐2,4‐dibenzoyl‐1‐phenyl‐3,5‐bis(2‐methoxyphenyl)cyclohexan‐1‐ol

(1RS,2SR,3RS,4SR,5RS)‐2,4‐Dibenzoyl‐1,3,5‐triphenylcyclohexan‐1‐ol or (4‐hydroxy‐2,4,6‐triphenylcyclohexane‐1,3‐diyl)bis(phenylmethanone), C₃₈H₃₂O₃, (1), is formed as a by‐product in the NaOH‐catalyzed synthesis of 1,3,5‐triphenylpentane‐1,5‐dione from acetophenone and benzaldehyde. Single crystals of the chloroform hemisolvate, C₃₈H₃₂O₃·0.5CHCl₃, were grown from chloroform. The structure has triclinic (P) symmetry. One diastereomer [as a pair of (1RS,2SR,3RS,4SR,5RS)‐enantiomers] of (1) has been found in the crystal structure and confirmed by NMR studies. The dichoromethane hemisolvate has been reported previously [Zhang et al. (2007). Acta Cryst. E 63 , o4652]. (1RS,2SR,3RS,4SR,5RS)‐2,4‐Dibenzoyl‐3,5‐bis(2‐methoxyphenyl)‐1‐phenylcyclohexan‐1‐ol or [4‐hydroxy‐2,6‐bis(2‐methoxyphenyl)‐4‐phenylcyclohexane‐1,3‐diyl]bis(phenylmethanone), C₄₀H₃₆O₅, (2), is also formed as a by‐product, under the same conditions, from acetophenone and 2‐methoxybenzaldehyde. Crystals of (2) have been grown from chloroform. The structure has orthorhombic (Pca2₁) symmetry. A diastereomer of (2) possesses the same configuration as (1). In both structures, the cyclohexane ring adopts a chair conformation with all bulky groups (benzoyl, phenyl and 2‐methoxyphenyl) in equatorial positions. The molecules of (1) and (2) both display one intramolecular O—H...O hydrogen bond.