Manganese and molybdenum mixed oxides were co-deposited in a thin film form by pulsed deposition technique on a glassy carbon substrate, and this mixed oxide film was further decorated with platinum nanoparticles. Formaldehyde, being a candidate for proton exchange membrane fuel cell applications, was chosen as the test material for the catalytic activities of the developed surface in alkaline media. The synergetic effect of the mixed metal oxide deposit incorporating Pt nanoparticles was verified by using different mol ratios of the corresponding metal ions and applying pulsed deposition conditions and under optimized conditions and, resultant oxidation peak has shown a significant increase in the peak current accompanied by the small shift in the peak potential. The modified composite electrodes were characterized by SEM, EDX, XPS and EIS. Copyright (C) 2016, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.