Abstract
Submicron-sized charged colloidal particles are self-assembled into ordered crystalline structures in polar liquid medium, due to a strong electrostatic interparticle interaction. The colloidal systems provide models to study phase behavior of the atomic and molecular systems. Furthermore, the colloidal crystals have received considerable attention as photonic materials, since their Bragg wavelengths usually lie in the visible light regime. In the present review, we report the crystallization mechanism of the charged colloids as well as the controlled crystallization methods to grow large single crystals. In particular, we describe the unidirectional crystal growths of the colloidal silica dispersions under gradients of pH and temperature. We also report fabrications of the self-standing photonic materials obtained by immobilizing the colloidal crystals in polymer gel matrix.
