The title compound (systematic name: 4,7-methano-2,2′-spirobi[1,3-benzodioxole]), C
14H
14O
4, is an asymmetric spiro ester of orthocarbonic acid and two diols,
viz. the aromatic benzene-1,2-diol and the aliphatic vicinal norbornane-
exo-
cis-2,3-diol. The orthocarbonate molecule is close to having non-crystallographic
Cs symmetry. The five-membered ring stemming from the aliphatic diol has an envelope conformation. C—O bonds including the spiro-C atom span an approximately 0.07 Å range, but are within 0.02 Å of the respective distances in a density functional theory calculation,
i.e. the distance difference is not caused by packing forces. Accordingly, the crystal packing is characterized by weak C—H
O and C—H
π interactions.