This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at producing high-value metal/metal oxide composite powders (Ag, Pd, Au, Pt) by spray pyrolysis. These powders are used extensively in the electronics industry for manufacture of circuit boards and capacitors. Current methods of powder synthesis cannot adequately control the size distribution of the powders, nor give controlled phase and elemental composition and in the case of Palladium give useful oxidation resistance. Nanochem Inc. proposes to develop novel chemical routes to form composite particles containing the metal and an inexpensive filler materials such as metal oxide. The proposed research will result in a process for the generation of metal powders with high purity, narrow size distribution, smaller particle size, and controlled elemental and phase composition at a cost less than is possible with the current manufacturing process. The Phase I effort will prove the feasibility of this approach by using currently available aerosol techniques to produce Ag, Pd, Au and Pt particles with vastly improved properties relative to existing materials. In addition, there will be a significant cost reduction associated with the manufacture of these composite powders due to the replacement of the metal with the inexpensive filler material.