The controlled synthesis of precious metal nanoparticles of the appriopriate chemical composition, optimised size and morphology for use in catalysis is an ongoing experimental challenge. There is a critical need to understand the correlations between particle preparation methods and particle morphology. The sol preparation route is reliant upon the addition of a polymer to stabilise the particles by adsorption at the particle/solvent interface. The final size, shape and polydispersity of the particles (or aggregates) obtained are subject to the chemical nature, molecular weight and concentration of the polymer selected i.e. the polymer plays a critical role in determining the ultimate catalytic activity of the nanoparticle via the morphology obtained. Thus we wish to investigate the nature of the stabilising polymer layer to correlate this with catalytic perfomance.