The Chemistry of Nanomaterials Group is engaged in the construction of advanced nanostructured materials through soft chemical methods, mainly aimed at the design and synthesis of particles and thin films of porous oxides, combined with metallic nanoparticles or biomolecules (biopolymers, enzymes, etc). Advanced techniques are applied for materials characterization. The high area/mass ratio of nano or mesostructured materials (~200-1000 m2/g) and the high control attainable in mesoscale porosity (2-50 nm) and surface functionality are attractive for applications in areas such as sensors, catalysis and adsorption. In addition, the possibility of controlling the nanoscale porosity provides unique opportunities to understand the chemistry of confinement.