Résumé
In this course we will discuss the synthesis and the characterizations of nanomaterials ina liquid environment. Nanoparticles and nanostructured materials are indeed oftensynthesized in solutions via bottom-up routes. In these approaches, chemical and physicalforces operating at the nanoscale are used to assemble basic units into larger structures ofcontrolled morphology.In a first step we will review the most important colloidal interactions and the mechanismsleading to the broad diversity of self-organized structures found in complex fluids. In asecond step we will examine in detail a few examples where monodisperse nanoparticlesor well defined nanostructured solids are obtained via reduction of salts, sol-gelapproaches etc… and how they can be stabilized in solutions.Finally the last sequence of the course will be dedicated to the description of classic tools(such as light scattering techniques, spectroscopies …) that can be used to characterizenanomaterials and follow their formation in solutions. We will present some techniquesand their underlying mechanisms through a few basic examples where the size, thestructure or the properties of the nanomaterials are monitored during their synthesis.