Allylation of aldehyde and ketone, and prenylation of 2-chlorobenzoquinone were achieved by using a combination of a catalytic amount of indium(III) chloride and metallic aluminium or zinc.
Allylation of a variety of quinones with allyl(trifluoro)silanes takes place with high regioselectivity in the presence of FeCl3·6H2O, giving allylquinones in good yields. This method was used to synthesize biologically active isoprenoid quinones such as plastoquinone-1 and vitamin K1.