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Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Preparation of Macroporous Epitaxial Quartz Films on Silicon by Chemical Solution Deposition
Published on: December 21, 2015
Binary Colloidal Crystal Films Grown by Vertical Evaporation of Silica Nanoparticle Suspensions
Jennifer L Russell1, Grace H Noel1, Joseph M Warren1
1Departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Physics, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
Abstract:
Despite intensive research efforts in the synthesis of binary colloidal crystals, the production of well ordered binary colloidal crystal films over large areas continues to be synthetically challenging. In this paper, we investigate the phase behavior of binary mixtures of l-arginine-stabilized 36 and 22 nm silica nanoparticles deposited as centimeter-scale thin films onto a vertical substrate via evaporative assembly. By adjusting the temperature and relative colloid composition under high humidity conditions, we controlled the order of the resultant colloidal crystal films. The domain size of the AB2 binary crystalline phase increased with an excess of small (B) particles and a very slow evaporation rate below 45 °C, with the best results obtained at 30° and 35 °C.
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