Rational design of efficient noble metal catalysts and its application process by the interface promoted strategy is an emerging research field. Herein, highly efficient nickel hydroxide promoted PtNi(OH)x/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts for room temperature HCHO oxidation was developed. PtNi(OH)xky-Al2O3 demonstrates remarkably better performance than the state of the art non-reductive oxide supported Pt catalysts, and ranges among the best performance of the reductive metal oxide supported Pt catalysts. A (>)99% HCHO conversion and a (>)100h stable performance at 30 degrees C were obtained over PtNi(OH)x/gamma-Al2O3 with a 0.3 wt% Pt loading amount. Various characterizations, including in situ DRIFTS study, were performed to understand the reason for the enhanced performance of PtNi(OH)xty-Al2O3. The superior performance is attributed to the formation of enormous Pt/Ni(OH)x interface, and the preferred hydroxyl facilitated HCHO oxidation pathway through formate oxidation by the abundant associated hydroxyl groups nearby the Pt active sites. Such hydroxyl groups confined interface promotion strategy may bring new insight into the designing of highly efficient bimetallic catalysts and its potential technological applications for HCHO removal. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.