Abstract
The principal trends and prospects in studies on the creation of carbon materials with a specified electrocatalytic activity and stability are examined and methods for the surface modification of disperse and compact carbon materials are surveyed. It is shown that charge transport in the electrocatalysis by surface-modified electrodes proceeds via both a mediator mechanism and via direct electron transfer. The electrocatalytic properties of electrodes modified by simple organic complexes, polymers, and biopolymers are discussed and the mechanisms of the acceleration of the electrochemical oxidation of organic substances, the evolution of hydrogen, and the electrochemical reduction of oxygen are analysed.
The bibliography includes 137 references.