Surfaces decorated with nanoparticles of catalytically active metals hold considerable promise in catalytic and electrochemical applications, including fuel cells. We have recently discovered that through control of defect chemistry we can fabricate intricately decorated surfaces that seem to show enhanced stability, probably due to some degree of surface anchorage. Here we wish to utilise neutron powder diffraction to study the growth of such structures, seeking to probe the growth mechanism, the chemical and structural nature of the nanoparticles and to determine if there is a direct interaction between the substrate and exsolute during the different growth stages.