Under mild conditions (40 atm O2, 28°C, 10-15 h), an efficient aerobic oxidation of cycloalkanes to cycloalkanols can be achieved using nanostructured amorphous metals such as Fe and Co and an amorphous alloy like Fe20Ni80 as catalysts. For example, cyclohexane is oxidized to cyclohexanol with 32-41% conversion, while 1-adamantanol is formed from adamantane with 52-57% conversion.