Evolution of interparticle capillary forces during drying of colloidal crystals

Photonic crystals are periodic structures that have the capability to manipulate the photons in the same way as semiconductors do for electrons. The self-assembly strategy that utilizes colloidal crystals as a template to form photonic crystals has received a great deal of recent research interest because it is simple and cost-effective. Experimental studies and theoretical analysis have speculated that capillary forces play a pivotal role in forming the colloidal crystals during the crystal growth process and that particularly during the drying stage the changing of the magnitude of capillary forces is critical to the resultant microstructure. This paper presents a computational analysis of the changing capillary forces, which may throw light on a refined strategy for controlling colloidal crystal growth.