A new type of polyaniline-poly (styrene sulfonate) (PAn-PSS) hydrogel was fabricated with high concentrations of aniline (An) and PSS via supramolecular self-assembly. Then 30 segments of cyclic voltammograms from -0.2 to 0.8 V were conducted to deposit the Pt particles on the surface of the hydrogel. For comparison, PAn-PSS colloid was synthesized with the ordinary method. The morphology and composition of the PAn-PSS hydrogelPt and PAn-PSS colloidPt were investigated by the TEM and EDX measurements. Furthermore, the shift of the feature bands in FTIR and UVvis spectra confirms that the PAn-PSS hydrogel has interactions with Pt. So the Pt particles are dispersed and the electrons are shuttled more freely, which is beneficial for the electrochemical performance. The cyclic voltammograms and chronoamperometric measurements show that Pt supported on the PAn-PSS hydrogel has preferable electrocatalytic performance toward the oxidation of methanol than the one on PAn-PSS colloid. Hence, PAn-PSS hydrogelPt can be a promising catalyst for methanol in fuel cells. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012