Patent ID: 6875253

Claim:
A method for producing metal alloy fine particles comprising: (a) dissolving the following substances in an alcohol alone, water and an alcohol, or an alcohol and an organic solvent that can be mixed with the alcohol in a presence of an organic protective agent: (i) a salt or a complex of at least one transition metal selected from the group consisting of Fe and Co, and (ii) a salt or a complex of at least one noble metal selected from the group consisting of Pt and Pd (provided that a combination of Co—Pd is excluded); and (b) performing heating under reflux with an alcohol in an inert atmosphere so as to produce metal alloy fine particles having a composition expressed by a general formula: A x B (1-x) (where A is at least one selected from the group consisting of Fe and Co, and B at least one selected from the group consisting of Pt and Pd (provided that a combination of Co—Pd is excluded), and 40 at % ≦x≦60 at %), and having a particle size of 1 nm to 5 nm.