3D Bulk Ordering in Macroscopic Solid Opaline Films by Edge-Induced Rotational Shearing

Abstract

A breakthrough in the field of large area photonic structures is reported, based on permanent ordering of solid polymeric films of sub-micrometer spheres by edge rotational-shearing. The resulting high-quality polymer opal thin-films exhibit strikingly intense structural color, as confirmed by combining a number of spectroscopic approaches. This induced self-assembly on macroscopic length scales represents a step-change away from current surface lithographies, presenting new routes for assembling solid ordered photonic materials. Despite previous reports of shear-ordering in sedimentary colloids in solution, no precedents exist for the application of such techniques to these granular solvent-free systems, which allow formation of permanent composite structures in the solid-state.