ABSTRACT

Nanomaterials are studied by a research £eld, which is devoted to materials with morphological features on the nanoscale, having special properties based on their nanoscale dimensions. The advantages of nanomaterials are the large surface area or volume ratio exhibited by them, leading to a very high surface reactivity with the surrounding surface, ideal for catalysis or sensor applications, and the ability of varying their fundamental properties (e.g., magnetization, optical properties [color], melting point, hardness, etc.), relative to bulk materials without a change in chemical composition.1 According to classic sources, materials referred to as “nanomaterials” generally fall into two categories: fullerenes and inorganic nanoparticles. At the same time, during the last decade, the number of reports, dedicated to nanomaterials based on metal-containing complexes with σ-or π-metal-ligand bonds (coordination and organometallic compounds), has dramatically increased in comparison with last years of the previous century. The recent achievements in nanomaterials in particular including metal-organic composites have been generalized in a series of monographs2-5 and reviews on various particular aspects of metal-complex nanomaterials.6-18 Additionally, metal complexes are frequently used as useful precursors for obtaining inorganic nanomaterials and composites, for instance nanostructures of metals and their oxides and chalcogenides, which are of extensive interest for their widespread use in catalysis, optics, electronics, optoelectronics, information storage, and biological and chemical sensing. Techniques of their synthesis from coordination compounds were reviewed.19 The advantages for the use of metal complexes as precursors are as follows: simple process, mild synthetic conditions, clean reactions, excellent reproducibility, and high product quality make the authors’ strategies signi£cant. It is believed that the introduction of coordination structures into the synthesis of metal-oxide and chalcogenide nanocrystals may provide a versatile tool to control their growth and assembly into well-de£ned nanostructures. This £eld is out of scope of the present section, where we try to comprehend brie–y the main directions of recent development in the coordination nanomaterial synthesis, properties, and applications. Attention is paid to coordination polymers, an emerging new class of hybrid nanomaterials with promising characteristics for a number of practical applications, such as gas storage and heterogeneous catalysis.20