Ordered Hybrid Micro/Nanostructures and Their Optical Applications

Abstract

known that the optical properties related refractive index is an important parameter for ordered micro/nanostructures. Commonly, organic substances own lower refraction. Aiming at improving which, researchers introduce highly polarizable heteroatoms or rigid aromatic moieties. However, the maximum of refractive index is limited to 1.54-1.60, [3] which is far from the requirements of rapidly developing technologies. [4] Incorporation of inorganic materials with relative higher refractive index (TiO 2 , ZnO, ZnS, graphene nanoparticles, and Si) into an organic matrix is capable of enlarging the optical parameters to a great extent, generally up to a value of 2.5-3.0, [5] which offers more chances for the fabrication of novel ordered micro/nanostructures. Photonic crystals (PCs), for example, regularly arrange materials of high and low dielectric constants on the order of the wavelength of light. The photonic bandgap (PBG) prohibiting the propagation of light results from the sufficient dielectric contrast and appropriate geometry. The structural color therefore generates. Manipulating the propagation of light via micro/nanostructures meets the requirements for modern optical devices. [6] As a result, more efforts have been applied to devices consisting of micro/nanostructures of multiple materials, such as synthetic materials and biomaterials. [7] Besides optical properties, the strength and toughness of ordered micro/nanostructures are also improved based on the hybrid material. Meanwhile, the electric and magnetic features of inorganic dopants can also exactly assist the adjustability. Therefore, the hybrid can significantly improve performance compared with its constituent.This review emphasizes on applications sought (sensing, imaging, communication, photoelectricity, etc.), the materials used (silicon, metals, polymers, etc.), and the preparation methods employed (patterning, etching, deposition, etc.). We present an attempt to classify and compare some intensively reported micro/nanostructures of hybrid materials and/or heterogeneous structures, along with recent important developments in literatures. It is organized as follows: First, we summarize some fundamental physical principles and concepts in brief. Second, we particularly highlight artificial and natural laminar structures, represented by Bragg stacks (BSs) and butterfly wings, which have drawn much attention in the latest literatures. Next, the focus shifts to the preparation routes and materials adoption of colloidal crystals and their derived periodic arrays. A few examples of highly functional materials Recent advances in manufacturing and technology of ordered hybrid micro/ nanostructures have acquired many breakthroughs. With the aid of the cooperation of various materials, the ordered hybrid micro/nanostructures exhibit high-quality performance and mechanical stability and allow the modulation on the light-matter interaction in a controllable manner, thereby enabling a wide variety of innovative applications. This article reviews recent deve...

Design of a ZnO/Poly(vinylidene fluoride) inverse opal film for photon localization-assisted full solar spectrum photocatalysis

“…Owing to its PBG and slow light effects, PC structure has attracted great interest due to its potential application for improving light harvesting in photocatalysis [33][34][35][36]. The PBG effect can be described as light within the wavelength region of the PBG being forbidden from propagating in the PC on the grounds of Bragg diffraction and scattering [37,38]. Slow light effect means that the group velocity of photons would be reduced when trying to penetrate the PC structure, giving the photocatalyst more time to make use of the photons [39].…”

Butterfly wing architectures inspire sensor and energy applications

“…The intelligent systems show outstanding physiochemical properties and stimuli responsiveness, such as structural coloring of butterfly wings [ 5 ], structural color changing in chameleons [ 6 ] and thermal insulation in polar bears [ 7 ]. Specifically, butterfly wings exhibit architypes of unique micro/nanostructures, vivid wing coloration, light-trapping mechanisms and responses to various stimuli [ 8 ]. These naturally intricate features have been replicated into man-made functional materials for applications in sensors [ 9 ], photovoltaics [ 10 ], photocatalysis [ 11 ], biomedicine [ 12 ] and robotics [ 13 ].…”

Inkjet Printing of Patterned, Multispectral, and Biocompatible Photonic Crystals

“…Patterning of colloidal photonic crystals (PhCs) has attracted great attention recently owing to their promising applications in sensors, [1][2][3][4][5] color displays, [6][7][8][9][10] optical devices, [9,[11][12][13] and anticounterfeiting. [14][15][16][17] So far, numerous approaches, such as photolithography, [18,19] external stimuli, [20][21][22][23][24][25] relief printing and imprinting [26] have been utilized to pattern the optical lattices to define multispectral patterns of structural coloration, in spite of some drawbacks such as being timeconsuming and resource-intensive.…”