Primary and secondary nitro compounds react with dioxygen in the presence of copper metal and N ligands such as N,N,NЈ,NЈ-tetramethylethylenediamine (tmeda), 2,2Ј-bipyridine (bpy), and 1,10-phenantroline (phen) in various solvents to form aldehydes or ketones. More coordinating solvents as well as donor N ligands accelerate the reaction remarkably. The oxygenolysis of 2-nitropropane (NPH) in the presence of copper and tmeda in DMF results in acetone and acetone oxime. The amount of tmeda influences the chemoselectivity, higher tmeda concentrations preferentially lead to the formation of the oxime. The kinetics of the reaction, measured at 90°C, resulted in a rate equation of first-order dependence on copper and dioxygen and second-order dependence on 2-nitropropane. The rate constant, activation