Nucleation is one of the most important processes in our daily life and plays a crucial role for the development of novel materials. The freezing of water, generation of ferritin from apoferritin, formation of bones and teeth as well as synthesis of nanostructured materials by the bottom up approach might be regarded as prominent examples to demonstrate the fundamental and technological interest in this phenomenon. However, it is probably fair to say that nucleation and in particular its mechanisms at the molecular level are poorly understood. If the process could be better conceived it should be possible to control nucleation at the early stages, which in turn might offer the possibility to prepare particles of controlled size and morphology.

The lecture will focus on some recent developments in the field of oxide nanomaterials formation with special emphasis on the generation of nanoparticles from solution. The principles of metal oxide/hydroxide formation starting from molecular precursors and ions will be presented. For example, hydrolysis and condensation reactions give rise to metal oxido clusters with dimensions on the nm scale. These oxido clusters are at the borderline between large molecules and nanoparticles and thus represent model compounds for the early stages of nucleation. Additionally, some general aspects such as synthetic methods, properties and applications of oxide nanomaterials will be highlighted.