Carbon nanotube (CNT)/Pt nanoparticle (NP) hybrids are synthesized at room temperature using an imidazolium-salt-based ionic liquid (IS-ILs) as a linker. The new three-component CNT/IS-ILs/metal heterostructure has uniformly distributed Pt NPs, which form a conducting network on the CNTs that leads to high electrocatalytic activity. The hybrid is shown to exhibit higher electrocatalytic activity towards methanol oxidation reactions than a commercial hybrid catalyst and a hybrid containing polymeric linkers.