• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.97-107
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• 2008

This article presents an overview of current research activities that center on colloidal crystals resulting from self-assembly of surface-charged nanoparticles. It is organized into three parts: the first part discusses characterization of colloidal structures, the second part describes colloidal stability from the rheological aspects of colloidal crystals suspended in medium, and the third part highlights polymerized colloidal crystals as a promising application. Finally, we briefly discuss the directions of future research in this area.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.110-114
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• 2003

When using the dipping method for crystal formation, mono-layered colloidal crystal structures depend upon the lift-up rate of a glass substrate. The mono-layered colloidal crystals showed the highest quality when the glass substrate was raised at a rate of 3 mm/min at 25 $^{\circ}C$ in a 1 wt% polystyrene colloidal suspension (ethanol medium). In addition, in order to obtain multiple-layered colloidal crystals, an external electric Held was introduced. Multiple-layered colloidal crystals were successfully obtained via this method. The colloidal particles were well ordered over large areas and assembled into a homogeneous structure.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.640-643
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• 2013

On evaporation of water in polystyrene colloidal emulsion, the polystyrene colloidal particles are instantly protruded on the surface of water and are self-assembled by capillary force among the protruded particles. At the same time, the assembly of polystyrene colloidal particles is occurred on the surface of water owing to its lower effective density than water. Here we devised that the three-dimensional polystyrene colloidal crystals are quickly transferred onto the glass substrate by constructing wettable confined geometry on the glass substrate. We also applied the three-dimensional colloidal crystals to optical filters reflecting certain wavelength of light selectively by tuning the size of building blocks and incident angle of light.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.608-637
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• 2023

The initial motivation in colloid science and engineering was driven by the fact that colloids can serve as excellent models to study atomic and molecular behavior at the mesoscale or microscale. The thermal behaviors of actual atoms and molecules are similar to those of colloids at the mesoscale or microscale, with the primary distinction being the slower dynamics of the latter. While atoms and molecules are challenging to observe directly in situ, colloidal motions can be easily monitored in situ using simple and versatile optical microscopic imaging. This foundational approach in colloid research persisted until the 1980s, and began to be extensively implemented in optics and photonics research in the 1990s. This shift in research direction was brought by an interplay of several factors. In 1987, Yablonovitch and John modernized the concept of photonic crystals (initially conceptualized by Lord Rayleigh in 1887). Around this time, mesoscale dielectric colloids, which were predominantly in a suspended state, began to be self-assembled into three-dimensional (3D) crystals. For photonic crystals operating at optical frequencies (visible to near-infrared), mesoscale crystal units are needed. At that time, no manufacturing process could achieve this, except through colloidal self-assembly. This convergence of the thirst for advances in optics and photonics and the interest in the expanding field of colloids led to a significant shift in the research paradigm of colloids. Initially limited to polymers and ceramics, colloidal elements subsequently expanded to include semiconductors, metals, and DNA after the year 2000. As a result, the application of colloids extended beyond dielectric-based photonic crystals to encompass plasmonics, metamaterials, and metasurfaces, shaping the present field of colloidal optics and photonics. In this review we aim to introduce the research trajectory of colloidal optics and photonics over the past three decades; To elucidate the utility of colloids in photonic crystals, plasmonics, and metamaterials; And to present the challenges that must be overcome and potential research prospects for the future.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.11.1-11.1
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• 2011

We have developed a simple synthetic method for fabricating a wafer-scale colloidal crystal film of 2D crystals in a 1D stack based on a combination of two simple processes : the self-assembly of polystyrene (PS) nanospheres at the water-air interface and the layer-by-layer (LbL) scooping transfer technique. The main advantage of this approach is that it allows excellent control of the thickness (at a layer level) of the crystals and the formation of a vertical crack-free layer over a wafer-scale (4 inch). We investigate the optical and morphological properties of the PhC multilayers fabricated using various mono-sized colloidal crystals (250, 300, 350, 420, 580, 720, and 850 nm), and mixed binary colloidal crystals (300/350 and 250/350 nm).

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.189-194
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• 2004

When water is evaporated quickly from a water-based colloidal suspension, colloidal particles protrude from the water surface, distorting it and generating lateral capillary forces between the colloidal particles. The protruded colloidal particles are then assembled into ordered colloidal crystalline domains that float on the water surface on account of their having a lower effective density than water. These colloidal crystal domains then assemble together by lateral capillary force and convective flow; the generated colloidal crystal has grain boundaries. The single domain size of the colloidal crystal could be controlled, to some extent, by changing the rate of water evaporation, but it seems very difficult to fabricate a single crystal over a large area of the water's surface without reorienting each colloidal crystal domain. To reorient such colloidal crystal domains, a glass plate was dipped into the colloidal suspension at a tilted angle because the meniscus (airwaterglass plate interface) is pinned and thinned by further water evaporation. The thinning meniscus generated a shear force and reoriented the colloidal crystalline domains into a single domain.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.647-659
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• 2008

Colloids are a heterogeneous system in which particles of a few nanometers to hundreds micrometers in size are finely dispersed in liquid medium, but show homogeneous properties in macroscopic scale. They have attracted much attention not only as model systems of natural atomic and molecular self-assembled structures but also as novel structural materials of practical applications in a wide range of areas. In particular, recent advances in colloidal science have focused on nano-bio materials and devices which are essential for drug discovery and delivery, diagnostics and biomedical applications. In this review, first we introduce nano-bio colloidal systems and surface modification of colloidal particles which creates various functional groups. Then, various methods of fabrication of colloidal particles using holographic lithography, microfluidics and virus templates are discussed in detail. Finally, various applications of colloids in metal inks, three-dimensional photonic crystals and two-dimensional nanopatterns are also reviewed as representative potential applications.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.12 no.S1
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• pp.15-16
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• 2003

3-D photonic band-gap structures are fabricated from dielectric colloidal polystyrene beads through a centrifuge method. The fabricated photonic crystals exhibit opalescent colors under white light and show a clear diffraction peak dependent on the incident angle of the light beam. Also the scanning electron microscope image was taken to verify the face-centered cubic crystal structure. Bragg's law and Snell's law are employed to describe the position of angle resolved diffraction peaks. It was shown that the optically deduced effective refractive index and lattice constants were in good agreement with the crystal structure identified by scanning electron microscope.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.1891-1896
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• 2010

Submicron-sized polymeric colloidal particles can self assemble into 3-dimensional (3D) opal structure which is a useful template for photonic crystal. Narrowly dispersed polymer microspheres can be synthesized by emulsion polymerization in water using water-soluble radical initiator. In this report, we demonstrate a facile and reproducible emulsion polymerization method to prepare various polymeric microspheres within 200 - 400 nm size ranges which can be utilized as colloidal photonic crystal template. By controlling the amount of monomer and surfactant, monodisperse polymer colloids of polystyrene (PS) and acrylates with various sizes were successfully prepared without complicated synthetic procedures. Such polymer colloids self-assembled into 3D opal structure exhibiting bright colors by reflection of visible light. The colloidal particles and the resulting opal structures were rigorously characterized, and the wavelength of the structural color from the colloidal crystal was confirmed to have quantitative relationship with the size of constituting colloidal particles as predicted by Bragg equation. The tunability of the structural color was achieved not only by varying the particle size but also by infiltration of the colloidal crystal with liquids having different refractive indices.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.129-132
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• 2009

Monodisperse ZnS colloidal particles with precisely specified diameters over a broad size range were synthesized by controlled aggregation. Sub-10nm ZnS seed crystals were first nucleated at ambient temperature and then grown at an elevated temperature, which produced large polydisperse colloidal particles. Subsequent rapid thermal quenching and heating processes induced a number of secondary nucleations in addition to growing the large polydisperse microparticles which were finally removed by centrifugation and discarded at the completion of the reaction. The secondary nuclei were then aggregated further at elevated temperatures, resulting in colloidal particles which exhibited a nearly monodisperse size distribution. Particle diameters were controlled over a wide size range from 50 nm to 1 μm. Mie simulations of the experiment extinction spectra determined that the volume fraction of the ZnS is 0.66 in an aggregated colloidal particle and the colloidal particle effective refractive index is approximately 2.0 at 590 nm in water. The surface of the colloidal particles was subsequently coated with silica to produce ZnS@silica core-shell particles.