The synthesis of N-heterocycles via copper/TEMPO catalysed aerobic oxidation of amino alcoholsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Further details of experiments and synthesis of starting materials. See DOI: 10.1039/c2gc35062a

N -Heterocycles can be prepared using alcohol oxidation as a key synthetic step. Herein we report studies exploring the potential of Cu/TEMPO as an aerobic oxidation catalyst for the synthesis of substituted indoles and quinolines. The oxidative synthesis of N -heterocycles has been achieved using the aerobic Cu( ii )/TEMPO catalyst system.