 Image Number 16 for United States Patent #8133923.
Single domain wafer-scale colloidal crystals and macroporous polymers are formed by dispersing concentrated solutions of colloids, desirably monodisperse silica colloids, in a viscous monomer, desirably ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate, and spin-coating them onto a substrate. Subsequent photopolymerization produces three-dimensionally ordered colloidal crystals trapped inside a polymer matrix. Selective removal of the polymer matrix, such as by oxygen plasma treatment, or removal of the silica spheres, such as by wet etching, produces large-area colloidal crystals and macroporous polymers, respectively.
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