Microwave induced reactions for immobilizing platinum and palladium nanoparticles on multiwall carbon nanotubes are presented. The resulting hybrid materials were used as catalysts for direct methanol, ethanol and formic acid oxidation in acidic as well as alkaline media. The electrodes are formed by simply mixing the hybrids with graphite paste, thus using a relatively small quantity of the precious metal. We report Tafel slopes and apparent activation energies at different potentials and temperatures. Ethanol electro-oxidation with the palladium hybrid showed an activation energy of 7.64 kJ mol(-1) which is lower than those observed for other systems. This system is economically attractive because Pd is significantly less expensive than Pt and ethanol is fast evolving as a commercial biofuel. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.