A fascinating way of creating new materials is via the spontaneous self-assembly of nanoparticles. When suspended in a solvent, these particles perform Brownian motion, allowing them to explore phase space and form different phases, similar to atoms and molecules. In the presence of attractions, or at high enough densities, this can lead to intricate crystal structures, dependent on the shape of the nanoparticles and the interactions between them. Even more complex structures can be formed by confining the nanoparticles in microscopic cavities, leading to a complex interplay between the thermodynamic bulk phase that the particles ``want’’ to form, and the constraints imposed by the boundaries of the volume available to them [1]. This project explores the self-assembly of nanoparticles in confinement, in close collaboration with experimental work in the group of Cyrille Hamon (LPS). In particular, you will explore how the aspect ratio of nanorods impacts the structures they form in confinement. [1] W. Chaâbani, J. Lyu, J. Marcone, C. Goldmann, E. J. M. ten Veen, C. Dumesnil, T. Bizien, F. Smallenburg, M. Impéror-Clerc, D. Constantin, and C. Hamon, ACS Nano 18, 9566 (2024).