Herein, we report on the facile synthesis of a heterogeneous copper nanocatalyst and its combination with 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols to their corresponding carbonyl compounds. This low cost copper nanocatalyst was found to exhibit excellent recyclability, making it a highly attractive catalytic system from an economical and environmental point of view. Extensive characterization of the catalyst by a number of techniques revealed that it was comprised of well-dispersed Cu(I/II) nanoparticles with an average size of around 6nm.