Oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols has been studied in the presence of [Fe(ind)Cl](2)O (1) and [Fe-2(OMe)(2)(PAP)Cl-4] (2) (indH = 1,3-bis(2'-pyridylimino)isoindoline; PAP=1,4-di(2'-pyridyl)aminophthalazine) as catalysts using hydrogen peroxide as primary oxidant. The complexes were found to be suitable catalysts for the oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds in acetone as solvent. The reactivity of the alcohols is in the order primary < secondary < cyclic secondary < aromatic. The reaction mechanism in the case of 1 probable involves an iron-based oxidant, while in the case of 2 a free-radical mechanism is suggested. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.