PtRu nanoparticles (NPs) with enhanced methanol oxidation are prepared by a simple chemical reduction method using the thiol-functionalized carbon nanotubes (SH-CNTs) as support. Electrochemical measurements confirmed that the higher methanol oxidation is due to the excellent CO tolerance of PtRu NPs. From the comparison with the PtRu/COOH-CNTs catalyst, the experiment results demonstrate that excellent CO tolerance is originated from the strong interaction between Pt atoms and the -SH groups, which weakens CO adsorption and leads a higher methanol oxidation activity. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.