International interest in nanoscience research has flourished in recent years, as it becomes an integral part in the development of future technologies. The diverse, interdisciplinary nature of nanoscience means effective communication between disciplines is pivotal in the successful utilization of the science.

Nanochemistry: A Chemical Approach to Nanomaterials is the first textbook for teaching nanochemistry and adopts an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to the subject. It presents a basic chemical strategy for making nanomaterials and describes some of the principles of materials self-assembly over 'all' scales. It demonstrates how nanometre and micrometre scale building blocks (with a wide range of shapes, compositions and surface functionalities) can be coerced through chemistry to organize spontaneously into unprecedented structures, which can serve as tailored functional materials. Suggestions of new ways to tackle research problems and speculations on how to think about assembling the future of nanotechnology are given.

Primarily designed for teaching, this book will appeal to graduate and advanced undergraduate students. It is well illustrated with graphical representations of the structure and form of nanomaterials and contains problem sets as well as other pedagogical features such as further reading, case studies and a comprehensive bibliography.

Geoffrey Ozin and André Arsenault are both based at the University of Toronto in Canada. Ozin has been the recipient of numerous awards and has made a huge contribution to teaching over the years, while his research work is widely published and recognised throughout the world.

Philip Ball, renowned science writer and 2005 winner of the Aventis Prize for Science, commented: "A text that covers all the basic concepts of nanoscale chemistry and materials science, and sets them in their historical context, has been long overdue. But here it is — not just a comprehensive guide to the field, but a recipe book for the future. Nanoengineers, start here!"