High surface area carbon-supported Pt, binary PtM (M = Sn, Ru) and ternary PtSn/RuM (M = Ni, Rh) catalysts were investigated for the ethanol electro-oxidation reaction (EO) at 60 degrees C. The carbon-supported nanoparticles with a particle size of about 4nm were synthesized employing a modified polyol methodology. The composed materials were characterized in terms of structure, morphology and composition by using XRD, EDX and TEM techniques. Their electrocatalytic behavior for EO was investigated by employing a disc composite electrode. An enhancement of the EO was observed with Pt-Sn/C and PtSnNi/C catalysts by a negative shift of the onset potential for EO and a quasi-constant current density at 0.5V. (C) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.