Effect of Crystallinity on the Optical Reflectance of Cylindrical Colloidal Crystals

Abstract

We fabricate cylindrical colloidal crystals (CCCs) via electrophoretic depositions of polystyrene microspheres on a carbon fiber in a concentric arrangement. Images from optical and scanning electron microscope indicate that the CCCs of 460 nm microspheres reveal a semicrystalline structure in close-packed lattice, while the CCCs of 660 exhibit an amorphous arrangement. In optical reflectance spectra, both CCCs demonstrate a dispersive photonic bandgap as compared to that from planar counterparts. The curved contour for the CCCs renders incident light interacting with reflecting planes at slightly different angles, leading to a notable reduction in the reflectance intensity and minor relocation of photonic bandgap contingent on their crystallinity. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3536511] All rights reserved.