Complex Fluids

The objective of our research is to understand and control the self-assembly of matter on a colloidal length scale. The basic building blocks used are colloids of chemical or biological origin with well controlled spherical or rod-like shape and polymers with varying persistence length. The interactions between these components are well understood and can be modified in systematic ways. Despite the simplicity of these building blocks, they assemble into a variety of novel structures with unexpected complexity, e.g. 2D smectic phases, colloidal membranes, twisted chiral ribbons, and lamellar and columnar phases. These processes of self-assembly are under thermodynamic control and we use statistical mechanics to understand the final equilibrium structures. In the future we intend to study the assembly, phase transitions and dynamics of colloidal systems under non-equilibrium conditions.