title: Hybrid materials science: a promised land for the integrative design of multifunctional materials.
abstract: For more than 5000 years, organic-inorganic composite materials created by men via skill and serendipity have been part of human culture and customs. The concept of "hybrid organic-inorganic" nanocomposites exploded in the second half of the 20th century with the expansion of the so-called "chimie douce" which led to many collaborations between a large set of chemists, physicists and biologists. Consequently, the scientific melting pot of these very different scientific communities created a new pluridisciplinary school of thought. Today, the tremendous effort of basic research performed in the last twenty years allows tailor-made multifunctional hybrid materials with perfect control over composition, structure and shape. Some of these hybrid materials have already entered the industrial market. Many tailor-made multiscale hybrids are increasingly impacting numerous fields of applications: optics, catalysis, energy, environment, nanomedicine, etc. In the present feature article, we emphasize several fundamental and applied aspects of the hybrid materials field: bioreplication, mesostructured thin films, Lego-like chemistry designed hybrid nanocomposites, and advanced hybrid materials for energy. Finally, a few commercial applications of hybrid materials will be presented.
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7574, Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Paris, F-75005, Paris, France. clement.sanchez@upmc.fr christel.laberty@upmc.fr laurence.rozes@upmc.fr lionel.nicole@upmc.fr.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nicole
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laberty-Robert
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rozes
authors.forename: Clément
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanchez
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000639:trends*; D015195:Drug Design; D005544:Forecasting; D007287:Inorganic Chemicals / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000639:trends*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000138:chemical synthesis*
chemical_list: D007287:Inorganic Chemicals; D009930:Organic Chemicals