Understanding the structure-property relations of nanoscale materials is critical towards developing next-generation technologies. Our work is focussed on developing solution-based inorganic and hybrid inorganic-organic nanoscale materials that provide advantageous structural, physical, electrical and/or chemical functionality compared to their bulk counterparts. We apply these advanced nanoscale materials to fabricate coatings and electronic devices, such as solar cells, photoconductors, light emitting devices and chemical sensors, to make them smaller, better and smarter compared to what is currently available.