In this work, the influence of surface nitrogen on the dispersion and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) supported on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) was investigated. The NMCs were synthesized from a modified SBA-15 template to impart a disordered pore structure. The nitrogen content was thermally controlled by heating the NMCs to 800, 1000, 1200, or 1400 degrees C. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy showed that the nitrogen content and the graphiticity of NMC were inversely coupled. Pt NPs dispersion worsened with a decrease in nitrogen content or increase in the graphiticity. The highest ORR mass activity was obtained for Pt supported on NMC treated at 1000 degrees C. However, the highest ORR specific activity was obtained for Pt supported on NMC treated at 1400 degrees C. The results of this work show that both the nitrogen content and the carbon graphiticity can be tailored to yield Pt ORR catalysts with excellent dispersion and high ORR activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.