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[Display omitted] • Green Fenton-like selective oxidation of alcohol driven by the active oxygen species from air. • Highly efficient selective oxidation with low-cost and super-facile reaction operation. • Highly efficient MnCoOx catalysts characterized by uniform MnCo 2 O 4 -Co 3 O 4 oxide pair for selective oxidation of alcohol using air as oxidant. • A facile method with an in - situ heating enhancement for the formation of spinel MnCo 2 O 4 mixed oxide. Mn reinforced Co 3 O 4 catalysts (MnCoOx) were prepared by a facile solid phase mixed foaming method with an in-situ heating enhancement for the formation of spinel phase mixed oxide species, and studied in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol just the air in reactor as oxygen donor. It was found that the MnCoOx catalysts are composed of relatively minimal spinel MnCo 2 O 4 mixed oxide and massive Co 3 O 4 to form MnCo 2 O 4 -Co 3 O 4 oxide pair. The micro-domains of MnCo 2 O 4 -Co 3 O 4 oxide pair present two redox couples of Mn3+/Mn2+ and Co3+/Co2+ instead of the single one of Co3+/Co2+ in Co 3 O 4 , and then dramatically enhance the formation of superoxide radicals (•O2–) species from the O 2 in air, which can efficiently initiate the conversion of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde in a Fenton-like processes. With no oxidant other than air in reactor, the interaction between MnCo 2 O 4 and Co 3 O 4 in MnCoOx catalysts leads to a benzyl alcohol conversion up to 98 % with a 100 % benzaldehyde selectivity at atmospheric pressure while single component Co 3 O 4 can only present a benzyl alcohol conversion at 37 %. This embodiment of highly efficient heterogeneous selective oxidation just with air as oxidant provides a probability for developing a low-cost and super-facile radical-induced selective oxidation process for alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]