Issue 46, 2022

Monodisperse colloidal spheres with a high refractive index: their synthesis, assembly and application in structural colored materials

Abstract

Due to photonic bandgaps (PBGs) for tuning the luminescence of light emitters together with metallic and fadeless structural colors, photonic crystals (PCs) have been considered as appealing functional optical materials and have stimulated applications in various fields. The attractive optical properties of PCs are highly dependent on the refractive index contrast between the construction materials of PCs. Therefore, monodisperse colloidal spheres with a high refractive index have shown great potential as ideal building blocks for fabricating PCs with stronger bandgaps and brilliant structural colors. In recent decades, the design strategy and controllable preparation of monodisperse colloidal spheres with a high refractive index have witnessed tremendous progress. Herein, based on the nature of the structure, recent experimental advances in preparing various kinds of monodisperse colloidal spheres with a high refractive index and effective methods for assembling these spheres into PCs or amorphous structurally colored materials have been summarized. Specific attention is focused on the interesting and unique optical properties of these structurally colored materials and their related optical applications. In addition, potential challenges and improvements in the future in this field are presented.

Graphical abstract: Monodisperse colloidal spheres with a high refractive index: their synthesis, assembly and application in structural colored materials

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
04 Leo 2022
Accepted
20 Mph 2022
First published
21 Mph 2022

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022,10, 17451-17471

Monodisperse colloidal spheres with a high refractive index: their synthesis, assembly and application in structural colored materials

T. Yu, J. Bi, W. Wei and X. Su, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022, 10, 17451 DOI: 10.1039/D2TC03726B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements