We developed a simple method to fabricate colloidal crystal heterostructures (CCHs) with two or three stacked poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particle two-dimensional (2D) colloidal monolayer arrays of different particle spacings that independently diffract light. The 2D colloidal monolayer arrays of PMMA were prepared by using the air/water interface self-assembly method we recently developed...

Defect control in colloidal crystals is essential for these nanostructures to be effective as photonic bandgap (PBG) materials. We have used in-situ monitoring of the PBG of a colloidal crystal to study the structural changes during colloidal self assembly, with a focus on the formation of macroscopic defects such as cracks. These findings allow us to model the final stages of colloidal self as...

Applications for photonic crystals and metamaterials put stringent requirements on the characteristics of advanced optical materials, demanding tunability, high Q factors, applicability in visible range, and large-scale self-assembly. Exploiting the interplay between structural and optical properties, colloidal lattices embedded in liquid crystals (LCs) are promising candidates for such materia...

Mixtures of colloids and polymers display a rich phase behavior, involving colloidal gas (rich in polymer, poor in colloid), colloidal liquid (poor in polymer, rich in colloid) and colloidal crystal phases (poor in polymer, highly ordered colloids). Recently, the colloidal gas-colloidal liquid interface received considerable attention as well. Due to the colloidal length scale the interfacial t...

Colloidal clay in water suspensions are known to exhibit a multitude of bulk phases depending on initial colloidal concentration and ionic strength, and examples of this include repulsive Wigner colloidal glasses at low ionic strength and attractive gels at higher ionic strength due to screened electrostatic forces by the electrolyte. From confocal Raman microscopy combined with elasticity meas...

Crack formation is a frequent result of residual stress release from colloidal films made by the evaporation of colloidal droplets containing nanoparticles. Crack prevention is a significant task in industrial applications such as painting and inkjet printing with colloidal nanoparticles. Here, we illustrate how colloidal drops evaporate and how crack generation is dependent on the particle siz...

Liquefaction is one of the most important and complex topics in geotechnical earthquake engineering. In recent years, passive site stabilization method has been proposed for non-disruptive mitigation of liquefaction risk at developed sites susceptible to liquefaction using colloidal nano-silica stabilizer. In this research, 4 box models were used to investigate the ability to uniformly deliver ...

The macrocyclic host, cucurbit[8]uril, is used to facilitate cross-linking of colloidal particles and polymers in microdroplets resulting in thermoand photo-responsive supramolecular colloidal microcapsules. Methyl viologen-bearing colloidal particles were prepared using template polymerisation and combined with cucurbit[8]uril and an azobenzene-functionalised polymer within microfluidic drople...

We examine the response of a dense colloidal suspension to a local force applied by a small magnetic bead. For small forces, we find a linear relationship between the force and the displacement, suggesting the medium is elastic, even though our colloidal samples macroscopically behave as fluids. We interpret this as a measure of the strength of colloidal caging, reflecting the proximity of the ...