A new carbon supported Pt (Pt/C(b)) catalyst was prepared by reducing H2PtCl6 in glycol solution using formic acid as a reducing agent, and has been found in this work to be highly active and stable for the electrochemical oxidation of ethanol. The preparation produces highly dispersed Pt particles, of 2.6 nm average size, and with high electrochemical surface area, 98 m(2)/g. The apparent activation energy of ethanol oxidation over the Pt/C(b) catalyst electrode is low, 10-14 kJ/mol, over the range of potentials from 0.3 to 0.6 V. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.