Monodisperse polystyrene (PS) colloidal spheres were successfully prepared through emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization by controlling the polymerization reaction time, ionic strength of the system, concentration of the ionic copolymer (sodium p-styrenesulfonate) and other factors. The PS colloidal spheres were assembled into colloidal crystals whose structures were mainly face-centered cubic (fcc) close-packed. Then FDTD method was used to calculate the color-rendering characteristics of the colloidal crystals surface. The calculated results were consistent with the experimental results.

Preparation of polystyrene spheres in different particle sizes and assembly of the PS colloidal crystals

The crystallization of colloidal crystals and the synthesis of three\|dimensional periodic lattice cluster materials based on colloidal crystal are of great interest in experimental condensed matter physics.An introduction is given to the physical mechanism of ordering of colloidal particles in aqueous suspension,their structural phase transitions,the formation of morphologies,and the synthesis of three\|dimensional periodic lattice cluster materials based on colloidal crystal.There is still not enough experimental evidence or theoretical explanation for the physical mechanism of ordering by self\|organization that occurs in colloidal suspensions.Colloidal crystals open up a new way of designing such three\|dimensional lattice materials with novel functions which may have important potential applications in photonics and other fields.

Pan Ming

Papers

Crystallization of colloidal crystal and synthesis of three- dimensional periodic lattice cluster materials