7.15 Synthesis of para - and ortho -Quinones

From a synthetic perspective, a quinone’s substitution pattern dictates the difficulty surrounding its construction. A lack of symmetry, or an adjoining ring, often increases the synthetic challenge. Para -quinones and ortho -quinones are most often accessed by oxidation of the corresponding hydroquinone or catechol. This work will discuss many of the oxidants that affect this simple transformation, and highlight methods to access their precursors from less oxidized substrates. Throughout this chapter, the authors aim to stimulate the reader's imagination with a toolbox of methods organized by the number of oxidations and the type of synthetic transformation. The authors intend to provide old and new strategic methods for those faced with creating challenging quinone products.