TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CERAMICS AND GLASS - Preferred Materials: The support material comprises carbon black, graphitized carbon black, graphite, activated carbon, carbon nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, inorganic refractory oxides or conductive inorganic oxides.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Process: A protective colloid or a stabilizer is added to the polyol solvent. The protective colloid or the stabilizer is destroyed by addition of acidic or alkaline components and maintaining the suspension at 100-110degreesC for 30-120 minutes. The pH of the suspension is adjusted to 4.0-7.0 prior to heating the suspension to the boiling point of the polyol solvent.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - METALLURGY - Preferred Materials: The first metal is a transition metal. The transition metal is titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, or rhenium. The first metal may also be ruthenium. The second metal comprises a noble metal, preferably platinum, gold, silver, palladium, rhodium, osmium, and/or iridium. Preferred Composition: The supported platinum-ruthenium alloy catalyst further comprises 0.1-5 wt.% gold. It comprises 1-90 (preferably 20-80) wt.% platinum, ruthenium and gold on the support. The supported platinum-cobalt alloy catalyst comprises 1-90 (preferably 20-80) wt.% platinum and cobalt on the support.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Materials: The polyol solvent comprises 1,2-ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, glycerol, and/or hexylene glycol. Preferred Composition: The polyol solvent comprises 1-20 vol.% water. EXAMPLE - Ruthenium (III) chloride (12.0 g) and 1,2-propylene glycol (500 mL) were stirred for 30 minutes at 300 rpm. Concentrated sodium hydroxide solution was added to obtain pH 5.5. Arabic gum (1.75 g) dissolved in water (10 mL) was added to the reaction mixture. After 30 minutes of mixing, carbon black (7.0 g) was added. After 1-hour mixing, the mixture was heated up to 150degreesC. After the mixture had adjusted to this temperature, chloroplatinic acid (18.4 g) dissolved in 1,2-propylene glycol (100 mL) was slowly added. The temperature of the reaction mixture was then increased to the boiling temperature of the polyol (188degreesC). The final temperature was maintained for 30 minutes. The slurry was cooled to 150degreesC and worked up to obtain 50 wt.% platinum-ruthenium/carbon catalyst having crystalline size of 2.3 nm, lattice constant of 0.3824 and high degree of alloying.