The self-assembling behavior and microscopic structure of zinc oxide nanoparticle Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer films were investigated for the case of zinc oxide nanoparticles coated with a hydrophobic layer of dodecanethiol. Evolution of nanoparticle film structure as a function of surface pressure (pi) at the an-water interface was monitored in situ using Brewster's angle microscopy. where it was determined that pi = 16 mN/m produced near-defect-free monolayer films Transmission electron micrographs of drop-cast and Langmuir-Schaefer deposited films of the dodecanethiol-coated zinc oxide nanoparticles revealed that the nanoparticle preparation method yielded a microscopic structure that consisted of one-dimensional rodlike assemblies of nanoparticles with typical dimensions 0125 x 400 nm, encased in the organic dodecanethiol layer These nanoparticle-containing rodlike micelles were aligned into ordered arrangements of parallel rods using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique