Aiming at a better understanding of ethylene glycol oxidation, the adsorption and oxidation of ethylene glycol and its incomplete C-2 oxidation products glycol aldehyde, glyoxal, glycolic acid, glyoxylic acid and oxalic acid on carbon supported Pt catalysts were investigated by on-line differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) under continuous electrolyte flow. This includes adsorption transients at different, constant potentials, oxidative removal ('stripping') of the resulting adsorbates, and potentiodynamic bulk oxidation/reduction of the respective molecules. The data show a pronounced influence of the different functional groups on the adsorption and oxidation characteristics, with hydroxyl and carboxylic functions resulting in lower adsorption rates and pronounced potential effects, while aldehyde functions lead to high adsorption rates at all potentials. The potential effects in the adsorption rate are mainly ascribed to surface blocking by H-upd species. For aldehydes and acids, CO2 formation occurs already at potentials below the onset of OHad formation, which is ascribed to the decomposition of the carboxylic group or of the diol groups of hydrated aldehydes. The contributions of different reaction pathways, including: (i) 'direct' oxidation to CO2, (ii) indirect oxidation to CO2 via formation and further oxidation of COad, and (iii) incomplete oxidation to more highly oxidized C-2 species, with the possibility of their further reaction via re-adsorption and reaction along (i)-(iii), are discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.