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Noble metal powders (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd and Ru) have been synthesized by the polyol process in both the nanometer and submicron scales (sans Pd, Pt and Ru). They have been characterized by both microscopic (TEM and SEM) as well as spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR and XPS). Infrared spectroscopy was employed to study the colloid particles in the presence of ethylene glycol and PVP and the results show that the interaction between the organic phase and the metal particles vary according to the particle size. The role of the solvent, ethylene glycol, during the reduction process was also investigated and we observe formation of >C=O vibration band after the reduction process implying that the solvent reduces the metal ions thereby getting oxidized. XPS measurements carried out on the colloidal sols have shown the presence of the organic phase adsorbed onto the metal particles.