Catalyst of Pt-Co supported on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is prepared using mixed reducing agents. The SWCNTs were pretreated in a microwave oven to enable surface modification. Pt-Co nanoparticles with narrow particle size distribution around 5.4 nm were uniformly deposited onto the SWCNTs. Under same Pt loading mass and experimental conditions, the SWCNTs-Pt-Co catalyst shows higher electrocatalytic activity and improved resistance to CO poisoning than the SWCNTs-Pt catalyst. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.