“…In this context, we and others have investigated the viability of crack-free polycrystalline colloidal templates prepared by a very rapid spin coating method. [16][17][18][19] For our work, Co was electrodeposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass slides (Delta Technologies) using an electrolyte containing 0.1M H 3 BO 3 (EM Science, 99.5% pure) and 0.1M CoSO 4 (EM Science, 97.0% pure) with application of a constant potential (Hokuto Denko HA 501 potentiostat/galvanostat, À1.1 V to À1.25 V vs. saturated calomel) for times up to 10 min to yield deposits with average thicknesses $100 nm. To produce patterned films, we fabricated porous silica templates by spin-coating silica spheres, and then we electroplated cobalt in the voids between the particles.…”