The catalytic oxidation of methane was investigated over six catalysts with different palladium and platinum molar ratios. The catalysts were characterised by TEM, EDS, XPS, PXRD and temperature-programmed oxidation. The results suggest that in the bimetallic catalysts, an alloy between Pd and Pt was formed in close contact with the PdO phase, with an exception for the Pt-rich catalyst, where no PdO was observed. It was found that the molar ratio between palladium and platinum clearly influences both the activity and the stability of methane conversion. By adding small amounts of platinum into the palladium catalyst, improved activity was obtained in comparison with the monometallic palladium catalyst. However, higher amounts of platinum are required for stabilising the methane conversion. The most promising catalysts with respect to both activity and stability were Pd67Pt33 and Pd50Pt50. The platinum-rich catalyst showed very poor activity for methane conversion. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.