Directed Colloidal Assembly of 3D Periodic Structures

Abstract

Colloidal inks, comprised of silica microspheres with tailored attractive interactions between them, have been directly assembled via a robotically controlled deposition technique. 3D periodic lattices, whose periodicity far exceeds the dimensions of the colloidal building blocks (see Figure for a cross-sectional image), were created through layer- by-layer patterning of parallel rods.