An oxidation catalyst is prepared by pyrolyzing a source of iron and a source of nitrogen on a carbon support. Preferably, a noble metal is deposited over the modified support which comprises iron and nitrogen bound to the carbon support. The catalyst is effective for oxidation reactions such as the oxidative cleavage of tertiary amines to produce secondary amines, especially the oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine.