The electrooxidation of ethanol and its inhibition by the presence of adsorbed sulfate have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry using several concentrations of sulfuric acid on smooth polycrystalline platinum. The results show that the concentration of sulfuric acid influences the current in both potentiostatic and potentiodynamic experiments. The results are interpreted in terms of the competitive adsorption of sulfate and ethanol on the same Pt sites and suggest that, when the sulfuric acid concentration is increased, there is a reduction of Pt free sites able to adsorb and oxidize ethanol. The voltammetric data reveal that the peak currents observed during ethanol oxidation are not affected in the same way by the presence of H2SO4, which, based on previously obtained FIR results, suggests that the sulfate adsorption is able to inhibit the oxidation of ethanol in a selective way. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.