Copper modified graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (Cu-g-C3N4) was synthesized and used in the hydroxylation of benzene under mild conditions with hydrogen peroxide as a "green" oxidant. The presence of copper ions (Cu2+) was confirmed from the XPS, EDX and also the hydrogen TPR analyses. The catalyst shows excellent activity, resulting in 74.1% conversion of benzene with phenol as the major product (97.5%) and only p-benzoquinone as the by-product. The catalyst's selectivity towards phenol did not exhibit significant change even after being reused for several cycles. The catalyst was also used for the oxidation of several other organic compounds with interesting results. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.