Nanoscale copper oxide and nickel oxide, prepared by a modified sol-gel process, were investigated for their destruction efficiencies for methanol. The activity, selectivity, and stability of nanoscale CuO and NiO were compared with those of commercial microscale CuO and NiO. Nanoscale CuO and NiO were highly active and stable catalysts for complete methanol oxidation, catalyzing methanol oxidation at temperatures similar to100 degreesC lower than their microscale counterparts. The higher activity per gram of the nanoscale catalysts can be attributed to their higher surface areas, which were roughly 2 orders of magnitude higher than the microscale catalysts.