Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Fabrication of Spherical and Worm-shaped Micellar Nanocrystals by Combining Electrospray, Self-assembly, and Solvent-based Structure Control
Published on: February 11, 2018
An improved convective self-assembly method for the fabrication of binary colloidal crystals and inverse structures
Zhongyu Cai1, Jinghua Teng, Yong Wan
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
Abstract:
We report an improved convective self-assembly method for the fabrication of highly ordered, crack-free binary colloidal crystals (BCCs) and the associated inverse structures in large domains at length scales of several centimeters. With this method, BCCs can be fabricated in a non-close packed pattern and binary inverse opal films can be obtained over a centimeter scale. The presence of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) sol in the self-assembly system was found to play a significant role in the resultant structures. The pseudostop band positions are adjustable via varying the number ratio of small to large polystyrene (PS) spheres. At a given TEOS-to-PS ratio, the binary inverse opal film thickness was controllable by varying the colloidal volume fraction with an upper thickness threshold (>16 layers).
Related Concept Videos
Colloidal precipitates
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria
Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent – the...
The Colloidal State
Precipitation Processes

