Ni-B coatings were deposited by electroless technique onto the surface of commercial carbon electrodes for direct alcohol fuel cell applications. An acidic bath having nickel chloride as a source of nickel and dimethyleamine borane (DMAB) as a reducing agent was used to prepare the electroless Ni-B coatings. The boron content of the Ni-B/C deposits was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) and its value was 5 wt%. The influence of deposition time of the Ni-B coatings on the electrooxidation of methanol and ethanol was studied. The structural and textural properties of Ni-B/C coatings were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The fabricated Ni-B/C electrodes exhibited enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards electrooxidation of methanol and ethanol in 1.0 M NaOH. The Ni-B/C catalyst that was prepared after 60 min displayed a higher electrocatalytic activity compared to the other Ni-B/C prepared electrodes or the electroless Ni-P/C electrode. The stability of Ni-B/C electrodes towards the electrooxidation process improves as the time of Ni-B deposition increases; additionally, it is superior to that of Ni-P/C electrode prepared at the same deposition time. The surface coverage of the redox species, the number of monolayer of Ni-B and the transfer coefficient a has been determined. (C) 2010 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.