Efficient and eco-compatible transition metal-free Oppenauer-type oxidation of alcohols

•Cheap and safe NaOtBu catalytically promotes dehydrogenative oxidation of alcohols.•The H-acceptor used is commercially available and cheap.•The oxidation method is transition metal-free and ligand-free.

Catalytic amounts of cheap, non-toxic, easy-to-handle and non-sensitive sodium tert-butoxide are able to promote the dehydrogenative oxidation of a wide array of secondary alcohols using inexpensive benzophenone as the H-acceptor. The corresponding ketones, highly important intermediates and targets throughout life and material sciences, are very selectively obtained under mild conditions.