Abstract
This article is concerned only with benzylic oxidations among numerous applications of quinones as oxidants and dehydrogenating agents, covering the literature until 1978/1979. Rather than giving an exhaustive listing of all applications of quinones, it is tried to give a fairly comprehensive summary of typical oxidation reactions. Obviously, high-potential quinones such as ortho-chloranil and 2, 3-dichloro-5, 6-dicyanobenzoquinone (DDQ) occupy a prominent place on the list of quinones used in benzylic oxidations.
