In a recent paper in Phys. Rev. E, Brandeis postdoc Yasheng Yang and Assistant Professor of Physics Michael Hagan developed a theory to describe the assembly behavior of colloidal rods (i.e. nanorods) in the presence of inert polymer (which induces attractions between the nanorods). The nanorods assemble into several kinds of structures, including colloidal membranes, which  are two dimensional membrane-like structures composed of a one rod-length thick monolayer of aligned rods.  The theory shows that colloidal membranes are stabilized against stacking on top of each other by an entropic force arising from protrusions of rods from the membranes and that there is a critical aspect ratio (rod length/rod diameter) below which membranes are never stable. Understanding the forces that stabilize colloidal membranes is of practical importance since these structures could enable the manufacture of inexpensive and easily scalable optoelectronic devices. This work was part of a collaboration with the experimental lab of Zvonimir Dogic at Brandeis, where colloidal membranes are developed and studied.

Yang YS, Hagan MF. Theoretical calculation of the phase behavior of colloidal membranes. Phys Rev E. 2011;84(5).