1,10-Phenanthrolinium N-ylide, reacts with malonitrile and aldehydes via a domino-Knoevenagel- cyclisation to produce a new class of (8a RS,10 SR,11 SR)-9,9-dicyano-10-aryl-11-benzoyl-8a,9,10,11-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2- a][1,10] phenanthrolines in a simple and efficient protocol. Structural elucidation was done by single crystal X-ray diffraction.