Special chemical conjugates of organic and/or inorganic materials are known as hybrid nanomaterials (Figure 1). In another way, they are combinations of two or more organic, two or more inorganic, or at least one of each kind of component. Instead of being a straightforward combination of its constituent parts, the resultant material exhibits synergistic qualities and performance to create applications with special qualities that are dictated by the molecular or supramolecular level interface of the constituent parts.(Vargas-Bernal, 2020)
Introduction
The productivity of HNs is well-established. In the eighth century, the idea of HNs “materialised.” The pigment, Maya blue used in Mexico is often considered the prototype of a hybrid material. Commercial hybrid materials have been available since the 1950s (Edi et al., 2023).
In general, nanoparticles are defined as organic or inorganic materials 1–100 nm in size (Magdolenova et al., 2014). Exploring changes in material properties as a function of particle size is made possible by nanoparticles. According to their size, Au, Ag, and Cu nanoparticles in the metal category each have distinct electrical, optical, and catalytic capabilities (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Polymer hybrid nanomaterial
The physical properties of these hybrid nanoparticles are highly dependent on the size, shape, and inter-particle distance of the individual particles as well as the type of organic shell, if any, and are very different from those of bulk metals or molecular compounds. (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Physical properties of organic and inorganic hybrid nanomaterial
In addition to possessing the qualities of both inorganic and organic nanomaterials, hybrid nanoparticles may also exhibit special qualities above and beyond those of the constituent parts. Thus, a wide range of biomedical applications such as medication delivery, phototherapy, image-guided therapy, and biomedical imaging can benefit from the use of hybrid nanoparticles (Zhao et al., 2018).
The creation of hybrid nanostructures, which are made of at least two distinct materials, has the objective at resolving the limitations of single components, enhancing current properties, achieving new characteristics that are not possible by single-component nanoparticles, and/or achieving multiple functions not possible by single nano-architectures. Numerous hybrid nanostructures have been created and synthesised, including coreshell, yolkhell, heterodimer, Janus, dot-in-nanotube, dot-on-Nano rod, and nanobranches (Ki m et al., 2014).
Figure 4.
Synthesis of hybrid nanomaterial
Organic and inorganic components can be chemically bonded to form HNs. Both organic and inorganic materials, or both, are closely merged to make them (Figure 5) (Aksit and Altstädt, 2020). Typically, the organic components are materials that are found naturally, primarily carbon. (Edi et al., 2023). Their contribution to the development of hybrid nanomaterials is significant. Organic materials have many wonderful benefits. They provide easy processing, structural flexibility, tunable electrical properties, photoconductivity, and effective luminescence in addition to basic adaptability (Umekar et al., 2021). In contrast, inorganic components are typically chemical substances other than carbon (Edi et al., 2023). Their superior qualities as magnetic and electrically conductive materials with great mechanical stability are demonstrated by their increased and high charge mobility, thermal stability, and dielectric constant. When inorganic components and organic materials are combined at the nanoscale, extraordinary HNs with a variety of uses are produced. (Umekar et al., 2021).
Figure 5. Formation of hybrid nanomaterial