Novel procedures are developed for the synthesis of highly stable carbon composite catalyst supports (CCCS-800 degrees C and CCCS-1100 degrees C) and an activated carbon composite catalyst support (A-CCCS). These supports are synthesized through: (i) surface modification with acids and inclusion of oxygen groups, (ii) metal-catalyzed pyrolysis, and (iii) chemical leaching to remove excess metal used to dope the support. The procedure results in increasing carbon graphitization and inclusion of non-metallic active sites on the support surface. Catalytic activity of CCCS indicates an onset potential of 0.86 V for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with well-defined kinetic and mass-transfer regions and similar to 2.5% H2O2 production in rotating ring disk electrode (RADE) studies. Support stability studies at 1.2 V constant potential holding for 400 h indicate high stability for the 30% Pt/A-CCCS catalyst with a cell potential loss of 27 mV at 800 rnA cm(-2) under H-2-air, 32% mass activity loss, and 30% ECSA loss. Performance evaluation in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell shows power densities (rated) of 0.18 and 0.23 g(Pt) kW(-1) for the 30% Pt/A-CCCS and 30% Pt/CCCS-800 degrees C catalysts, respectively. The stabilities of various supports developed in this study are compared with those of a commercial Pt/C catalyst. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.