Particles embedded in a liquid crystal can interact with each other via elasticity-mediated forces. We study how the host medium’s intrinsic order translates into the self-organization of immersed inclusions depending on shapes/sizes of particles, molecular alignment, and used host anisotropic fluids. Controlled molecular alignment and inter-particle interaction forces are explored for nanocrystals and colloids of complex shapes. The interactions are strongly anisotropic and structures "mimic" molecular alignment fields. The self-assembly properties can be controlled by designing surface boundary conditions and particle shapes. We seek to establish general understanding of this emergent self-assembly behavior, as well as approaches to control structural self-assembly of nano-sized particles, which are much needed for the development of novel methods of manufacturing tunable optical materials.
