Molecular chemistry and nanoscience

Nanoscience certainly represents the most promising development in the material sciences. One of the major challenges in this field will be the total control of the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of materials, achieved by means involving the elementary atomic or molecular level.

The aim of this short review is to give a glimpse, and illustrate with a few examples, the extent of the possibilities open to physicists and chemists working together. Emphasis will be placed on the participation of chemistry, which opens up great prospects thanks to its extraordinary synthetic possibilities.