The surface electrochemical behavior of an adsorbed alizarin complexone (abbreviated as AC) and its surface coordination with Ru(II) were studied in aqueous solution at a pH range of 0-6. The surface complex of ruthenium with AC displays strong electrocatalytic activities toward benzyl alcohol. Based on the rotating disk electrode measurement, it is believed that the electrocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol is a two-electron and two-proton process with benzaldehyde as a major product. On the other hand, ruthenium-AC surface complex has also shown catalytic activities toward electro-oxidation of several small organic molecules such as methanol, formic acid, formaldehyde, ethanol, and acetaldehyde. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.