TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The microwave irradiation is performed in a microwave or achieved with directed microwave beams. The method further comprises adding additional stabilizer, a stronger reducing agent and additional precious metal or transition metal precursors to the solution, during increasing the temperature and/or holding the predetermined temperature. Forming the solution comprises adding an acid to a mixture of the solvent and catalyst substrate prior to adding the precious metal precursor to optimize deposition of the precious metal precursor on the catalyst substrate. Holding the solution at the predetermined temperature until the reduction and depositing are detected to be complete further comprises: emitting light through the solution; and detecting an amount of light emitted through the solution. Increasing the temperature of the solution with microwave irradiation at the controlled rate to the predetermined temperature comprises: monitoring the temperature of the solution; and controlling the microwave irradiation based on the temperature of the solution to maintain the controlled rate of increase. The method further comprises forming many solutions, where each solution is in a reaction chamber, homogenizing each solution and reducing the precious metal precursor to precious metal nanoparticles and depositing the precious metal nanoparticles onto the catalyst substrate to form catalyst particles in each reaction chamber, where reducing and depositing further comprise: placing each of the reaction chambers in a homogenous microwave oven; monitoring a temperature of each of the reaction chambers; controlling the microwave irradiation of each of the reaction chambers based on the temperature of the solution to maintain the controlled rate of increase; and controlling the microwave irradiation of each of the reaction chambers based on the temperature of the solution to hold the predetermined temperature constant. Reducing and depositing comprise: detecting a temperature of the solution with a temperature probe; increasing a temperature of the solution with microwave irradiation; controlling the microwave irradiation, based on the temperature of the solution detected by the temperature probe, to increase the temperature of the solution at a controlled rate of 8-12 degrees C/minute to the predetermined temperature; holding the temperature of the solution at the predetermined temperature with microwave irradiation; detecting a state of reduction and deposition; and ceasing the microwave irradiation upon detecting the state of reduction and deposition being a completed state. Preferred Components: The catalyst substrate is a non-precious metal catalyst material.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: A polyol performs as all of the solvent, the reducing agent and the stabilizer. The polyol is ethylene glycol. EXAMPLE - 5.25 mg Chloroplatinic acid was mixed with 47.5 mg non-platinum group metal catalyst in 25 ml ethylene glycol. The solution was sonicated for 30 minutes to form homogeneous slurry in a reaction chamber. The reaction chamber was transferred to a microwave oven and attached to the reflux condenser and heated at a controlled ramp rate of 10 degrees C/minute to a predetermined temperature of 190 degrees C. The solution was kept at 190 degrees C for 3 minutes. The resulting catalyst was then allowed to cool to room temperature and subsequently washed 5 times with deionized water to remove chloride ions and other impurities.