title: Rational Design of Photonic Dust from Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Films: A Versatile Photonic Nanotool for Visual Sensing.
abstract: Herein, we present a systematic study on the development, optimisation and applicability of interferometrically coloured distributed Bragg reflectors based on nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA-DBRs) in the form of films and nanoporous microparticles as visual/colorimetric analytical tools. Firstly, we synthesise a complete palette of NAA-DBRs by galvanostatic pulse anodisation approach, in which the current density is altered in a periodic fashion in order to engineer the effective medium of the resulting photonic films in depth. NAA-DBR photonic films feature vivid colours that can be tuned across the UV-visible-NIR spectrum by structural engineering. Secondly, the effective medium of the resulting photonic films is assessed systematically by visual analysis and reflectometric interference spectroscopy (RIfS) in order to establish the most optimal nanoporous platforms to develop visual/colorimetric tools. Then, we demonstrate the applicability of NAA-DBR photonic films as a chemically selective sensing platform for visual detection of mercury(II) ions. Finally, we generate a new nanomaterial, so-called photonic dust, by breaking down NAA-DBRs films into nanoporous microparticles. The resulting microparticles (μP-NAA-DBRs) display vivid colours and are sensitive towards changes in their effective medium, opening new opportunities for developing advanced photonic nanotools for a broad range of applications.
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Engineering North Building, 5005 Adelaide, Australia [2] College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, P. R. China [3] Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Biology, College of Resources and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yuting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Engineering North Building, 5005 Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Abel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Engineering North Building, 5005 Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Engineering North Building, 5005 Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Tushar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kumeria
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Engineering North Building, 5005 Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Daena
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Junsheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Biology, College of Resources and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Changhai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Engineering North Building, 5005 Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Dusan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Losic