While many major strides have been made in the last three decades concerning the synthesis, characterisation and properties of individual nanoobjects, their technological uptake necessarily requires integration into devices. To achieve this, detailed characterization, design and control of the interface between nanoobjects and their environment is essential. Interface properties typically dominate the behavior of nanomaterials. The reviews of this Thematic Series cover key areas of advanced synthesis methods, controlled functionalization and post-processing routes, developments in nanoscale characterization tools as well as theoretical modeling of structure and dynamics, and electronic properties. Finally some reviews cover key examples of successful nanomaterial integration.