This paper reviews the advances in the state-of-the-art colloidal self-assembly methods to fabricate colloidal photonic crystals and their emerging applications.

Abstract:The assembly of colloidal building-blocks is an efficient, inexpensive and flexible approach for the fabrication of a wide variety of photonic materials with designed shapes and large areas. In this review, the various assembly routes to the fabrication of colloidal crystals and their post-assembly modifications to the production of photonic materials are first described. Then, the emerging applications of the colloidal photonic structures in various fields such as biological and chemical sensing, anti-reflection, photovoltaics, and light extraction are summarized.