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Electrophoretic assembly of colloidal crystals with optically tunable micropatterns

Nature volume 404, pages 56–59 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

The production of materials with micrometre- and submicrometre-scale patterns is of importance in a range of applications, such as photonic materials1,2, high-density magnetic data storage devices3, microchip reactors4 and biosensors5. One method of preparing such structures is through the assembly of colloidal particles5,6,7,8,9,10. Micropatterned colloidal assemblies have been produced with lithographically patterned electrodes5,11 or micromoulds12. Here we describe a different method that combines the well-known photochemical sensitivity of semiconductors13,14 with electric-field-induced assembly15,16 to create ordered arrays of micrometre-sized colloidal particles with tunable patterns. We show that light affects the assembly processes, and demonstrate how to produce patterns using electrophoretic deposition in the presence of an ultraviolet (UV) illumination motif. The distribution of current across an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode can be altered by varying the illumination intensity: during the deposition process, this causes colloidal particles to be swept from darkened areas into lighted regions. Illumination also assists in immobilizing the particles on the electrode surface. Although the details of these processes are not well understood, the patterning effects of the UV light are discussed in terms of alterations in the current density15,17 that affects particle assembly on an ITO electrode.

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Figure 1: Schematic of the apparatus for particle assembly and pattern formation.
Figure 2: Process schemes for pattern formation.
Figure 3: Scanning electron microscope image of a pattern produced by method B.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Y. Xiao and H. F. Poon for assistance in the experimental work, and A. B. Bocarsly for discussions about semiconductor properties. This work was supported by a MURI grant from the US Army Research Office, NASA (Microgravity Science and Applications Division), and a MRSEC program of the NSF.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Princeton Materials, Institute Princeton University, Princeton, 08544-5263, New Jersey, USA

    R. C. Hayward, D. A. Saville & I. A. Aksay

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  1. R. C. Hayward
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Correspondence to I. A. Aksay.

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Hayward, R., Saville, D. & Aksay, I. Electrophoretic assembly of colloidal crystals with optically tunable micropatterns. Nature 404, 56–59 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35003530

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