The voltammetric behavior of Pt(II) Fe(II) and mixtures of Pt(II) and Fe(II) was studied in N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide ionic liquid (BMP-DCA IL) N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)imide ionic liquid (BMP-TFSI IL) and a mixture of BMP-DCA and BMP-TFSI respectively Electrodeposition of PtFe coatings was achieved by controlled potential electrolysis on tungsten from the aforementioned ILs containing Pt(II) and Fe(II) The Pt(II) species required to prepare these PtFe coatings was introduced Into the ILs by addition of PtCl(2) In BMP-TFSI an additional two equivalents of N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium chloride (BMP-Cl) were essential to assist one equivalent of PtCl(2) to dissolve The Fe(II) species was introduced into the ILs by addition of FeCl(2) or by anodizing an iron spiral electrode In BMP-TFSI additional BMP-Cl had to be added to assist FeCl(2) dissolution (FeCl(2) BMP-Cl = 1 2 (mol mol)) The PtFe coatings with various atomic ratios of Pt/Fe were studied for their voltammetric behavior towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic solutions This study shows that the PtFe alloy coatings with atomic ratios of similar to 0 5/05 had the highest reductive current density for ORR better than regular Pt or Pt electrodeposited electrodes (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved