Preparation of inorganic nanoparticles in oil-in-water microemulsions: A soft and versatile approach

► Synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles using oil-in-water microemulsions is reviewed. ► It differs from the typical water-in-oil microemulsion reaction method. ► Potential environmental and process advantages since the major phase is water. ► O/W microemulsions successfully used for synthesis of a variety of nanomaterials.