Fabrication of unconventional colloidal self-assembled structures

Although colloidal self-assembled structures have many potential applications in many fields, the limited structure of colloidal crystals has hindered their widespread use. In this study, we have proposed an approach to fabricating various types of 2D colloidal self-assembled structures that cannot be achieved using a conventional colloidal self-assembly method. Several types of colloidal assembly structures including lines, zigzags, and dimers were fabricated by adjusting the lattice space of the bottom layer of binary colloidal crystals. In addition, by selectively sintering the top layer of these new types of binary structures, nanohole arrays and zigzag colloidal rods were produced. This proposed method expands the diversity of colloidal crystal structures, thus colloidal crystals could possibly replace other expensive nanofabrication methods.