An inorganic nanocomposite is prepared by obtaining a solution of a soluble hydrazine-based metal chalcogenide precursor; dispersing a nanoentity in the precursor solution; applying a solution of the precursor containing the nanoentity onto a substrate to produce a film of the precursor containing the nanoentity; and annealing the film of the precursor containing the nanoentity to produce the metal chalcogenide nanocomposite film comprising at least one metal chalcogenide and at least one molecularly-intermixed nanoentity on the substrate. The process can be used to prepare field-effect transistors and photovoltaic devices.