Platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon are prepared by a microwave-assisted polyol process. The catalysts are characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The average particle size of Pt and Pd nanoparticles, which are uniformly dispersed on carbon, is 4 and 5 nm, respectively. The Pt/C and Pd/C catalysts exhibit four diffraction peaks that are indexed to the {111}, {200}, {220}, and {311} planes of Pt and Pd, respectively. The electrooxidation of formic acid is examined by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The Pd/C catalyst is found to have a higher electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation than a comparative Pt/C catalyst. Preliminary data from a single-stack test cell of a direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) using Pd/C as the anode catalyst yield high power density. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.