A versatile, solvent free aerobic alcohol oxidation system has been established in the presence of benzaldehyde based on a heterogenous cobalt catalyst supported on nanoshell carbon (Co/NSC), which was prepared through the pyrolysis of a mixture of Co(II) phthalocyanine and phenol resin. The established system features equal efficiency toward both benzylic alcohols and aliphatic alcohols. The nanoshell carbon has been demonstrated to be a better supporting material for the present reaction than some other carbon materials, e.g., activated carbon. Mechanistic studies suggest that Co/NSC can catalyze the formation of oxidative intermediate peroxybenzoic acid as efficiently as homogeneous cobalt catalyst, and moreover, suppress the undesired Baeyer-Villiger side reaction. Co/NSC also exhibits good reusability, i.e., it can be reused for at least 10 times without significant loss of performance. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.