Green Synthesis of Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Materials: State of the Art and Future Perspectives

The term inorganic-organic hybrid materials designates inorganic building blocks in the colloidal domain (1-1000 nm) embedded in an organic, typically polymeric, matrix. Owing to their outstanding properties, hybrid materials have the potential to improve human life significantly. In the last two decades, the importance of reorienting chemical syntheses in the direction of more sustainable, less harmful and energy-consuming procedures, referred to as green chemistry, has been much emphasized and worked on. This review deals with the application of green chemistry to the synthesis of inorganic-organic hybrid materials. The origin and preparation both of the inorganic components and of the organic polymer matrix are critically analyzed for various examples. The development of more sustainable syntheses for hybrid materials still poses an open challenge. Potential options to tackle this task are discussed.