Electrophoretic Self-Assembly of Sol-Gel Derived Silica Microspheres

摘要

Monosized silica microspheres (100-500 nm) were prepared by a sol-gel process by using tetraethyl orthosilicate precursor. A well-dispersed suspension was obtained by adjusting suspension to be weakly basic for a better yield of electrophoretic self-assembly (EPSA). A perfect EPSA behavior of silica microspheres into the layered pattern with the FCC structure was created. EPSA technique has been demonstrated as a simple and effective route to make numerous templates, which are associated with 3-D structures of silica microspheres in asymmetric geometries, for design of photonic crystals.