A nanorod shaped nickel hydroxide coated ferrite nanocatalyst was synthesized by a traditional co-precipitation method. The particle size of the nanoferrite was tuned using a variable surfactant ratio to achieve a high surface area. A very high BET surface area (334.55 m2 g−1) was achieved for particles with sizes of 40–130 nm. The superparamagnetic reusable catalyst was found to be active for the selective liquid phase oxidation of alcohols with hydrogen peroxide as a mild oxidant. Nickel hydroxide acted as a Bronsted base working in synergy with the nanoferrite catalyst for alcohol oxidation. The catalytic system was found to catalyse primary and secondary alcohols efficiently (86%) to their corresponding carbonyls in good yields.
