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Fabrication of high sphericity, monodispersed microspheres (100~600 nm) of various oxides (SiO2, TiO2, ZnO, In2O3, SnO2) via sol-gel process and polystyrene (PS) microspheres (200~400 nm) via emulsion polymerization is presented. A high colloidal stability suspension was obtained by adjusting the zeta potential of such spheres and pH of the colloid. The 3-D photonic crystal (PhC) templates of opaline structure on ITO-coated glasses and silicon wafers were easily formed under electrophoretic self-assembly (EPSA) of microspheres under the influence of exerting electrical forces. Different setups of counter-electrode were attempted to establish an electrical field. The lattice constant of an ordered opal structure by EPSA can also be tuned by the electrical field gradient. Interestingly various self-assembled 3-D structures of silica microspheres in either symmetrical curvilinear profile or triangular ridges can be produced through EPSA route using specific counter-electrode setups. The measured optic properties of such 3-D PhC templates manifest photonic bandgap (PBG) based on planar-wave expansion (PWE) simulation to verify the existence of real PBG in PhC samples with tunable nanostructures. The PS PhC templates are currently used to easily transform into inverse opal structure (IOS) by infiltrating sol of other oxides with high dielectric constant (e.g. ZnO or TiO2) and filled with metallic nanoparticles (Ni or Cu) by electrochemical deposition or chemical bath deposition (CBD).

A vertical electrophoretic deposition method was employed to fabricate polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystals with negligible defects and considerable surface uniformity. Subsequently, the interstitial voids within the colloidal crystals were electroplated with Ni, followed by selective removal of the PS microspheres. With careful adjustment in the processing parameters, we were able to obtain Ni inverse opals at predetermined thickness in relatively short time. The inverse opals revealed superb structural stability and surface uniformity. Because the electrophoresis and electrodeposition were both carried out in a solution state, this fabrication scheme enables facile construction of inverse opals on conductive substrates over conventional approaches.

We demonstrate a facile fabrication scheme to construct large-area ZnO inverse opals on an indium-tin-oxide substrate with significantly reduced defects and improved stoichiometry. The fabrication steps involve the preparation of colloidal template via vertical electrophoresis of polystyrene (PS) microspheres in 720 nm radius, followed by galvanostatic electrodeposition of ZnO in the interstitial voids among the PS microspheres. Subsequently, the sample undergoes a heat-treatment in air at 500 C for different time to remove the colloidal template, leaving an integral ZnO skeleton with thickness adjusted by the electrodeposition time. Since the colloidal template is deliberately designed with desirable thickness and considerable uniformity, the electroplating of ZnO can be achieved in a reduced ethanol/water ratio that allows faster growth rate and improved ZnO structure. Scanning electron microscope images demonstrate negligible microstructural defects for the ZnO inverse opals. X-ray diffraction reveals a wurtzite hexagonal lattice with (002) preferred orientation. In addition, both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectra suggest improved crystallinity and stoichiometry with increasing heat-treatment time. VC 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3552604] All rights reserved.

We employed an electrophoretic deposition technique to prepare cylindrical colloidal crystals (CCCs) from polystyrene (PS) microspheres of 460 and 660 nm diameters using a carbon fiber (CF) with 7 μm diameter as the substrate. Measurements on the CCC diameter demonstrated growth rates that slowed down as time progressed. Scanning electron microscope images confirmed that the CCCs of 460 nm microspheres formed a face-centered cubic close-packed lattice, whereas an amorphous structure appeared for the CCCs of 660 nm. Subsequently, both CCCs underwent a potentiostatic electroplating to deposit Ni into the interstitial voids among the PS microspheres. After chemical removal of the PS microspheres, we fabricated cylindrical inverse opals (CIOs) in various diameters. As expected, better crystallinity was found on the CIOs of 460 nm microspheres as opposed to the 660 nm ones. The electrical resistivity for both CIOs exhibited a substantial reduction over that of the CF. Our CCCs and CIOs revealed considerable structure stability with excellent surface uniformity. The fabrication scheme enables rapid preparations of CCCs and CIOs in desirable lengths and diameters.