Formaldehyde O-oxide reacts with alpha-alkoxy-alpha'-hydroperoxy ether
s to produce the corresponding adducts which can be cyclized under aci
dic conditions to yield the novel 1,2,4,5,7-pentoxocane derivatives 4a
-c and 8. The structure of the crystalline 1,2,4,5,7-pentoxocane 8 was
determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis.