The retro-Favorskii reaction finds limited use in organic synthesis being performed in most cases to obtain terminal alkynes from propargyl alcohols. The reaction requires the use of a strong base, high temperature (usually reflux temperature of toluene or n-butanol), and usually needs several hours, thus limiting its scope and often resulting in side reactions and degradation of the substrates. While most interest in the retro-Favorskii is focused on the alkyne, in our group we are currently investigating the possibility of employing this approach to synthesize suitable precursors for the preparation of conjugated compounds bearing carbonyl and quinone functionalities. These materials are usually characterized by a small band-gap and a low LUMO, making them appealing in the field of organic electronics to achieve n-type transport or as electrode material for organic batteries. However, they are also often insoluble and prone to the formation of aggregates, limiting their processability in device fabrication and narrowing down the number of derivatives accessible. Synthetic methods based on precursors can circumvent these problems. In this sense, the role of the alkyne becomes to improve the solubility and tune the chemical properties of the precursor (provided that the retro-Favorskii reaction can occur rapidly, with high yield, and with a simple workup procedure).