ul. Kutateladze, 630128 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation. The formation process of a nanosize powder of the equilibrium solid solution Pt 0.50 Rh 0.50 by thermolysis of the double complex salt [Rh(NH 3 ) 5 Cl][PtCl 4 ] under hydrogen or helium and in vacuo was studied in situ by X ray diffraction and synchrotron radiation. The reduction temperature of the metals in the cationic and anionic moieties of the starting complex is the main factor responsible for the mechanism of solid solution formation.Heteroatomic metallic phases and composites with a crystallite size smaller than 100 nm can be prepared by crystallization of amorphous alloys and mechanochemi cal alloying, 1 as well as by decomposition of precursors containing atoms of two or more metals. Double complex salts, which consist of complex cations and anions con taining various transition metals as the central atoms, serve as the starting compounds for the preparation of bimetallic powders. Nanosize powders with different phase compositions, including metastable oversaturated solid solutions, can be prepared by varying the coordination environment, the temperature parameters of the decom position process of complex salts, and the gas medium. 2Investigation of the mechanism of thermolysis of double complex salts is of considerable practical interest, in particular, for the development of procedures for the preparation of supported catalysts. 3 Compared to con ventional methods for the preparation of bimetallic mate rials, the latter method allows one to prepare metallic phases at substantially lower temperatures. Due to the fact that precursors contain metal atoms in a stoichiomet ric ratio and these atoms are already "mixed" at molecular level, the problem of preparation of homogeneous mate rials of strictly specified compositions, which are located in phase diagrams in the immiscibility region, has been successfully solved in some cases.Earlier, 4 we have studied in detail thermolysis of the [Pd(NH 3 ) 4 ][IrCl 6 ] salt under quenching conditions. In these experiments, we measured X ray diffraction pat terns of samples, which were quenched from the equilib rium state, at room temperature and also in situ in a high temperature X ray chamber. The formation steps of the