Monatshefte fu ¨r Chemie 137, V–VIII (2006) DOI 10.1007/s00706-006-0472-6 Editorial: Building Block Approaches to Inorganic and Hybrid Materials Guido Kickelbick and Nicola Hu ¨ sing Chemistry in the last century has mainly focused on the exploration of phenomena in the making and breaking of bonds in small and large molecules and the electron- ic influences on these processes. The art of bond formation is now well-estab- lished for many compound classes. Thus, we have the tools in hand to form amazingly complex molecules, to mimic nature as the largest molecular manufac- turer, and to explore molecules with a complexity our chemical ancestors did not even imagine. Inorganic chemistry followed these trends and developed various subclasses, such as solid state, transition metal coordination chemistry, and organ- ometallic chemistry as well as main group chemistry. While the exploration of structure and bonding phenomena has been the main focus over many decades, in recent years, a novel trend can be observed: Chemists are no longer satisfied with the understanding of the reactivity of molecules and the formation of bonds or the generation of highly aesthetic molecules, but they are also focusing on functional aspects of molecules and the formation of materials from molecular compounds. This often requires novel approaches in the way of thinking which are based on interdisciplinary communication with scientists of different branches, such as biol- ogist or physicists. Materials chemistry adopted this new approach. Over many centuries, investi- gations in the production of materials have been based on trial and error approaches using minerals or biological materials as crude educts. It was probably the earning of the first findings in the new scientific branch of polymer chemistry that has totally changed the view in materials science during the last century. Scientists realized that materials can be developed deliberately in combining mole- cules to get novel substances with unique properties that have not been observed before. Materials chemists recognized that the deliberate design of materials prop- erties requires the control of their molecular building blocks. It became clear that the toolbox of chemists, namely the knowledge of bond formation, developed over the centuries, is the prerequisite of the tailored formation of materials. Indeed many chemists with a strong preparative background can be found among the leading scientists in material science. It is only because we all have the tools in hands, which were developed by generations of chemists, that today we can construct materials with a high complexity and surprising functions. Truly ...‘‘we are like