The room-temperature oxidation of cyclohexane and n-dodecane was studied in;a liquid-phase membrane reactor, in which the organic substrate and aqueous oxidant phase are separated by a catalytic membrane. The influence of the poly(dimethylsiloxane) polymer membrane thickness and the catalyst volume fraction (zeolite-encapsulated iron-phthalocyanine) on the observed reaction rate was investigated. In the n-dodecane oxidation in a liquid phase catalytic membrane reactor, the alcohol and ketone products are exclusively recovered in the organic n-dodecane phase, demonstrating the possibility of the integrated reaction and separation in one single process unit. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.