TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The nanocomposite material is iron/carbon, manganese/carbon, iron distannide/carbon, iron oxide/carbon (e.g. alpha -iron oxide/carbon or gamma -iron oxide/carbon), cupric oxide/carbon, cuprous oxide/carbon, manganese oxide/carbon, manganese(II,III) oxide/carbon, manganese(III) oxide/carbon, vanadium dioxide/carbon, vanadium pentoxide/carbon, titanium dioxide/carbon, molybdenum disulfide/carbon, iron disulfide/carbon, copper(II)fluoride/carbon, lithium iron phosphate/carbon, lithium manganese iron phosphate (LiMnxFe1-xPO4) or (LiMn(0.75)Fe(0.25)PO4)/carbon, zinc oxide/carbon. Zirconium oxide/carbon, cobalt/carbon, manganese iron oxide (Mn(0.75)Fe(0.25)O)/carbon, tin/carbon, cobalt oxide/carbon or copper/carbon.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The method further comprises the step of pyrolyzing the hybrid material, so that a nanocomposite material comprising many nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix is formed, where the nanoparticles are formed from the metal component of the metal precursor compound. The method further comprises: reducing the metal oxide nanoparticles of the nanocomposite material comprising many metal oxide nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix by contacting the nanocomposite material with a reductant or heating the nanocomposite material under inert conditions, so that a nanocomposite material comprising many metal nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix is formed; contacting the nanocomposite material comprising many metal oxide nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix with a sulfur compound, halide compound, or phosphate compound, so that a nanocomposite material comprising many metal sulfide, metal halide, or metal phosphate nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix is formed; reducing the metal sulfide nanoparticles of the nanocomposite material comprising many metal sulfide nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix by contacting the nanocomposite material with a reductant or heating the nanocomposite material under inert conditions, so that a nanocomposite material comprising many metal nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix is formed; contacting the nanocomposite material comprising many metal sulfide nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix with an oxygen compound, halide compound, or phosphate compound, so that a nanocomposite material comprising many metal oxide, metal halide, or metal phosphate nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix is formed. Preferred Components: The reaction mixture comprises: a first monomer, optionally, a second monomer, where the second monomer is a cross-linking monomer, a metal precursor compound, an initiator, an anionic surfactant, water, and at least one organic solvent, so that a reaction mixture that is an aqueous emulsion is formed; or a first monomer, optionally, a second monomer, a metal precursor compound, and water. The reaction mixture comprises many metal precursors, where the metal precursors have a different metal. The monomers comprise acrylonitrile, divinyl benzene, resorcinol, formaldehyde, vinylpyrrolidone, vinyl alcohol, acrylic acid, phenol, 1,4-butadiene, isoprene, vinylsilane and/or sulfur. The metal precursor compounds comprise metal carboxylates and/or metal coordination compounds.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Components: In the hybrid material: the metal precursor compounds are metal carboxylates and/or metal coordination compounds; and the polymer is poly(acrylonitrile), polyvinylpyrrolidone, polysaccharide, acrylonitrile-divinylbenzene copolymer, phenol resin, or resorcinol-formaldehyde copolymer. EXAMPLE - 108 mg lithium hydroxide, 221 mg phosphoric acid and 660 mg L-ascorbic acid were dissolved in 10 ml deionized water. 116 mg Iron(II,III) oxide/carbon nanocomposite powder was added to the resultant mixture. The solution was loaded into a pressurized container and heated at 270 degrees C for 12 hours. The resultant powder obtained was centrifuged and washed with water to obtain lithium iron phosphate/carbon nanocomposite material.