ABSTRACT
The label of hybrid materials can be assigned to a variety of systems having in common a combination of organic and inorganic components blended on the molecular scale. Following Kickelbick (2007), one can distinguish between organic-inorganic hybrids sensu stricto, when inorganic units are formed in situ by molecular precursors, and nanocomposites, when discrete structural units are used in the respective size regime. Nanocomposites are usually formed by embedding nanoparticles, nanowires, nanorods, carbon nanotubes, etc., in an organic polymer.
