Direct oxidation of the Csp3-H bonds of N-heterocyclic compounds to give the corresponding ketones using a reusable heterogeneous MnOx-N@C catalyst

A novel reusable MnOx-N@C catalyst has been developed for the direct oxidation of N-heterocycles under solvent-free conditions using TBHP as a benign oxidant to give the corresponding N-heterocyclic ketones. This catalytic system exhibited broad substrate scope and excellent regioselectivity, as well as being amenable gram-scale synthesis. Notably, this MnOx-N@C catalyst was successfully recycled six times without any significant loss of activity.