Self-assembly in inorganic and hybrid systems: beyond the molecular scale

The availability of well defined inorganic nanocrystals allows the construction of aligned structures with characteristic architectural elements in the nanometer range, the mesoscale. Contrary to alignment driven by external conditions and fields, we focus on strict "self-effects", where the organization is already encoded in the shape and mutual interaction potentials of the particles. This Perspective discusses the potential of this approach for generating valuable functional inorganic mesostructures.