7-1(1-Acetoxymethylidene) Bensonorbornadiene: A versatile re-agent for the synthesis of 7-formyl and 7-hydroxymethyl benzonorbornadienes

<p dir="ltr">7-(1-Acetoxymethylidene)benzonorbornadiene 3<b>,</b> prepared in one step by the addition of benzyne to 6-acetoxyfulvene 2<b>,</b> is hydrolysed in acid solution to form a 3:2-epimeric mixture of <i>syn-</i> and <i>anti-</i> 7-formylbenzonorbornadienes 4 and 5<b>,</b> respectively; the corresponding 7-hydroxymethylbenzonorbornadienes 6 and 9 were produced by reduction of the formyl isomers with sodium borohydride.</p>