X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies have been used to analyze the surface of diffusion layer (PTFE/C) and catalyst layer (Pt/C/PTFE) of electrode. Detail analysis of carbon C-1s peak showed that the carbon was of the form of C, C-O, C=O, CF, CF2 and CF3 with CF2 is more dominated on the surface compared to CF and CF3. The oxygen O-1s photoelectron peak showed that the oxygen was of the form of C=O and C-O. The platinum was of the form of Pt-0 with some Pt oxidized to PtO. The scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the dispersion of Teflon in the diffusion layer, the distribution of platinum in the catalyst layer loaded with 0.38 mg Pt/cm(2) and also the cross section of the membrane electrode assembly. The prepared electrode delivers a superior performance compared with the commercial electrode (E-TEK). The difference in performance between the two electrodes is due to the good localization of the platinum particles. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.