The oxidation of 2, 6‐xylenol by oxygen, catalysed by a copper complex, leads to poly‐phenylene ether or quinones according to the amount of added pyridine. The first oxidation step is common in the two processes giving aryloxy radicals. The pH of the medium plays a fundamental role so that at low values a second electron is removed and the diradical rearranges into a cation in acidic medium. This cation may add to the monomer or to H2O thus explaining the production of several quinones. It has been shown that in methanol solvent, a nucleophilic reagent, addition to the cation takes place giving a new product which was characterised by thin layer chromatography (tlc).