The necessity for a better understanding of the basic processes that determine the operation of fuel cells became evident during the devel opment of practical units in the last three decades. The search for efficient electrocatalysts in low-temperature fuel cells intensified the general study of the nature and the role of the electrode material. Re search on the complex mechanisms of the anodic oxidation of different fuels and of the reduction of molecular oxygen on solid electrodes was stimulated, and the strong influence of adsorbed species on the electrode reaction in question was...