The interactions of CO with carbon-supported catalysts have been investigated by means of FTIR. Carbon-supported platinum, like copper, shows a preference for linear sites in its adsorption of carbon monoxide. From our vibrational analysis. we conclude that there are at least two kinds of adsorption sites for CO molecules. When the temperature is increased, a shift of the IR band of chemisorbed CO to lower wavenumbers is observed. The nature of the carbon surface and the presence of functional groups can have an important influence upon the properties of carbon-supported metal catalysts in CO oxidation. Full conversion over Pt containing carbon samples was already reached below 200 degreesC. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.