Nanomaterials 2015, 5, 468-540; doi:10.3390/nano5020468 OPEN ACCESS nanomaterials ISSN 2079-4991 www.mdpi.com/journal/nanomaterials Review Ceramic Nanocomposites from Tailor-Made Preceramic Polymers Gabriela Mera 1,†, Markus Gallei 2,†, Samuel Bernard 3 and Emanuel Ionescu 1,4,* 1 Institut für Materialwissenschaft, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Jovanka-Bontschits-Strasse 2, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany; E-Mail:
[email protected] 2 Ernst-Berl-Institut für Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany; E-Mail:
[email protected] 3 Institut Européen des Membranes (UMR 5635-CNRS/ENSCM-UM2) CC 047-Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France; E-Mail:
[email protected] 4 Department Chemie, Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Universität zu Köln, Greinstrasse 6, D-50939 Köln, Germany † These authors contribute equally to this paper. * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +49-6151-16-6344; Fax: +49-6151-16-6346. Academic Editor: Thomas Nann Received: 24 February 2015 / Accepted: 15 March 2015 / Published: 1 April 2015 Abstract: The present Review addresses current developments related to polymer-derived ceramic nanocomposites (PDC-NCs). Different classes of preceramic polymers are briefly introduced and their conversion into ceramic materials with adjustable phase compositions and microstructures is presented. Emphasis is set on discussing the intimate relationship between the chemistry and structural architecture of the precursor and the structural features and properties of the resulting ceramic nanocomposites. Various structural and functional properties of silicon-containing ceramic nanocomposites as well as different preparative strategies to achieve nano-scaled PDC-NC-based ordered structures are highlighted, based on selected ceramic nanocomposite systems.