Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Colloidal diamond
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Colloidal diamond
Do you wish to request the book?
Colloidal diamond
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
Colloidal diamond
2020
Overview
Self-assembling colloidal particles in the cubic diamond crystal structure could potentially be used to make materials with a photonic bandgap
1
–
3
. Such materials are beneficial because they suppress spontaneous emission of light
1
and are valued for their applications as optical waveguides, filters and laser resonators
4
, for improving light-harvesting technologies
5
–
7
and for other applications
4
,
8
. Cubic diamond is preferred for these applications over more easily self-assembled structures, such as face-centred-cubic structures
9
,
10
, because diamond has a much wider bandgap and is less sensitive to imperfections
11
,
12
. In addition, the bandgap in diamond crystals appears at a refractive index contrast of about 2, which means that a photonic bandgap could be achieved using known materials at optical frequencies; this does not seem to be possible for face-centred-cubic crystals
3
,
13
. However, self-assembly of colloidal diamond is challenging. Because particles in a diamond lattice are tetrahedrally coordinated, one approach has been to self-assemble spherical particles with tetrahedral sticky patches
14
–
16
. But this approach lacks a mechanism to ensure that the patchy spheres select the staggered orientation of tetrahedral bonds on nearest-neighbour particles, which is required for cubic diamond
15
,
17
. Here we show that by using partially compressed tetrahedral clusters with retracted sticky patches, colloidal cubic diamond can be self-assembled using patch–patch adhesion in combination with a steric interlock mechanism that selects the required staggered bond orientation. Photonic bandstructure calculations reveal that the resulting lattices (direct and inverse) have promising optical properties, including a wide and complete photonic bandgap. The colloidal particles in the self-assembled cubic diamond structure are highly constrained and mechanically stable, which makes it possible to dry the suspension and retain the diamond structure. This makes these structures suitable templates for forming high-dielectric-contrast photonic crystals with cubic diamond symmetry.
Self-assembly of cubic diamond crystals is demonstrated, by using precursor clusters of particles with carefully placed ‘sticky’ patches that attract and bind adjacent clusters in specific geometries.
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
Subject
