New generations of hybrid nanomaterials and nanocomposites with enhanced performance and tailorable properties are finding increasing application in many areas, including environmental protection, biomedicine, sensing, catalysis, or multifunctional protective coatings. Apart from traditional synthetic processes, like the sol-gel method, there are nowadays a plethora of other more novel and advantageous bottom-up approaches that lead to the formation of hybrid nanomaterials. The precise characterization of their structural, morphological, and physicochemical features, as well as of their surface chemistry, is of paramount importance, since the properties to performance and cost correlation determine the possible practical applications in abovementioned areas. Organically modified silicates (ORMOSILS), metal-organic frameworks (MOF), or periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMO) can be assumed among the most characteristic examples of hybrid nanomaterials of great scientific interest. The wide range of potential applications of hybrid nanomaterials in many well-established and emerging fields has intensified the research effort to achieve highly controlled synthesis in order to meet the required demands. The aim of this Special Issue is to gather articles describing new concepts related to the synthesis, functionalization, characterization, and application of different classes of hybrid nanomaterials.
Keywords: hybrid materials; nanomaterials; nanocomposites; sol-gel method; porous materials; functionalization; multifunctional hybrids; characterization techniques.