Functional 3D Photonic Films from Polymer Beads

Water on solid surfaces is ubiquitously found in nature, in most cases due to mere adsorption from ambient moisture. Because porous structures have large surfaces, water may significantly affect their characteristics. This is particularly obvious in systems formed by separate particles, whose interactions are strongly influenced by small amounts of liquid. Water/solid phenomena, like adsorption, condensation, capillary forces, or interparticle cohesion, have typically been studied at relatively large scales down to the microscale, like in wet granular media. However, much less is known about how water is confined and acts at the nanoscale, for example, in the interstices of divided systems, something of utmost importance in many areas of materials science nowadays. With novel approaches, in-depth investigations as to where and how water is placed in the nanometer-sized pores of self-assembled colloidal crystals have been made, which are employed as a well-defined, versatile model system with useful optical properties. In this Progress Report, knowledge gained in the last few years about water distribution in such nanoconfinements is gathered, along with how it can be controlled and the consequences it brings about to extract new or enhance existing material functionalities. New methods developed and new capabilities of standard techniques are described, and the water interplay with the optical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the ensemble are discussed. Some lines for applicability are also highlighted and aspects to be addressed in the near future are critically summarized.

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Exploration and Exploitation of Water in Colloidal Crystals

Gallego-Gómez

Blanco

López

2015

Advanced Materials

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Post‐Deposition Opal Evolution

Popa

Marlow

2008

ChemPhysChem

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The formation of artificial opal films consists of wet opal deposition, drying, and possible transformations in the dry state. The processes after deposition, before the crystals lattice reaches its final equilibrium state, are studied herein. We follow the time evolution of the optical transmission spectra for polystyrene opals with different thicknesses. The evolution of the spectra shows pronounced changes in the Bragg peak position, width and height, as well as changes in the background and, in the beginning of the process, a band related to residual water in the sample. Therefore, a wet and a dry phase can be distinguished in the opal transformations. They are all connected to shrinkage and we associate one of them with a possible new sintering mechanism.

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Functional 3D Photonic Films from Polymer Beads

Cited by 2 publications

References 82 publications

Exploration and Exploitation of Water in Colloidal Crystals

Exploration and Exploitation of Water in Colloidal Crystals

Post‐Deposition Opal Evolution

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