The catalytic activity of Rh for the partial oxidation of methane to syngas can be markedly affected by interfacing polycrystalline Rh films with a dispersed TiO2 interlayer deposited on YSZ. High CO selectivity (near 97%) can be reached in wide range of CH4:O-2 ratio at 550 degreesC. The observed modification of catalytic activity and selectivity towards CO and H-2 production over Rh interfaced with interlayer of TiO2 is related to the lowered stability of surface Rh oxide against reduction to metallic Rh. The phenomenon may be interpreted either by electronic type strong metal-support interactions or by self-driven wireless electrochemical promotion mechanism. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.