Three-Dimensional Self-Assembly of Colloids at a Water–Air Interface: A Novel Technique for the Fabrication of Photonic Bandgap Crystals

Abstract

Three‐dimensional structures of colloidal particles (see Figure for an assembly of polystyrene particles) have been constructed on a water surface rather than on a planar substrate. This method can be used to generate colloidal particles three‐dimensionally irrespective of their size, and if a generated colloidal opal structure is infiltrated by semiconducting materials it could be used for a large range of optical applications.

Wavelength and Intensity Multiplexing of Metal Nanoparticles for the Fabrication of Multicolored Micro‐ and Nanospheres

“…Since our methodology provides a simple and versatile tool for broadening the choice of colors for metal NPs, it is expected that it can be more widely used for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), [7,9] multiplexed optical bar coding, [22] optical-contrast agents, [23] photonic crystals, [24] colorimetric detection, [16] flow cytometry, [25] and cryptography. [26] The basic principle for the color-tuning of micro-and nanospheres described in this report may be easily extended to the fabrication of other types of functional microstructures, such as core/shell-type micro-and nanospheres [27] (metal NPs located in the interiors of polymer spheres, silica spheres, and hydrogel spheres) and film structures (metal NPs dispersed in polymer or silica films).…”

Colloidal Lithography

“…5) [30]. Park et al have developed heat-assisted interfacial colloidal crystallization, while the success of their technique relies on the convective flow generated during heating rather than the interface activity of colloidal particles [31]. Once 2D colloidal crystals are formed at the water/air interface, the LB technique has been used to transfer of them on different substrates [32][33][34][35].…”

Towards uniformly oriented diatom frustule monolayers: Experimental and theoretical analyses

“…A variety of self-assembly approaches have been reported, including the assembly of particles with a range of sizes and shapes [21][22][23] . Special attention has been paid to the 'floating assembly' of micronanoparticles floating on liquid-air interfaces [24][25][26] , as this technique is technically relatively simple and produces high-quality monolayers or even 3D assemblies of particles.…”