title: Optical properties of nanoparticle-based metallodielectric inverse opals.
abstract: Metallodielectric inverse opals were prepared by co-crystallizing silica-coated gold nanoparticles and polymer spheres, followed by removal of the crystal template. The inverse opals exhibit a distinct reflectance peak, which results from Bragg diffraction due to the highly ordered 3D macroporous structure. Photonic band-structure calculations indicate that the characteristic reflectance peaks observed are signatures of the directional gap at the L point. It is demonstrated that the optical properties (the position and magnitude of the electromagnetic bandgaps) of the gold-silica nanocomposite inverse opals can be engineered by varying the nanoparticle morphology (core size and shell thickness) and/or the nanoparticle volume-filling ratio of the composite. The use of metallodielectric nanoparticles to form inverse opals offers a versatile approach to prepare photonic materials that may exhibit absolute bandgaps.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Dayang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jensen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Salgueiriño-Maceira
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Liz-Marzán
authors.forename: Sergei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Romanov
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caruso
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008956:Models, Chemical; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D006046:Gold; D012822:Silicon Dioxide