Nanoparticles of brass are prepared by ablation of a brass target in ethanol using radiation of a copper-vapor laser at various laser fluences. The nanoparticles are characterized by TEM and optical spectroscopy. The multipulse laser irradiation leads to formation both the nanoparticles in liquid and well-ordered micro-structures on a surface of a target. It is revealed that both the morphology and absorption spectra of brass nanoparticles depend on presence of the micro-structures. Nanoparticles with the various phase diagrams are formed from a flat brass surface and from the same surface with micro-structures. The results are compared with a model of phase diagrams, in which size and composition effects are taken into account. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.