Inverse Opal Photonic Crystals - Department of Chemistry ...

opal silica powder on a glass slide and observe it under magnification. The opalescence
observed through a microscope is much greater than that observed without a microscope.
Observer Light source Sample Observer Sample Light source
Figure 16. Left: Photograph of an inverse opal silica powder (with medium sized pores) with the observer and light
source on the same side of the sample – illustrating the color of reflected light. Right: Photograph of the same
sample with the observer and light source on opposite sides of the sample – illustrating the color of transmitted light.
B. Predicting and changing the colors of inverse opals
As mentioned in the previous section, the wavelength of light reflected by an inverse opal is
affected by the size of its pores. Pore size, however, is only one of several factors that influence
the color of light reflected by an inverse opal. In addition, the solid fraction of the inverse opal
(i.e., the volume percent of the inverse opal that is occupied by solid walls), the refractive indices
of the walls, and the void spaces affect this color. We can estimate the wavelength of maximum
reflection (λ max ) by the equation 8,9 :
λ max = 1.633 D [φ n walls + (1-φ) n voids ]
where D is the average pore size, φ is the solid fraction, and n walls and n voids are the refractive
indices of the walls and void spaces, respectively.
You will notice that the wavelength of maximum reflection is directly proportional to the
average pore size of the inverse opal. Even more interesting is the effect of the refractive index
of the voids on the color of light reflected. The significance of this effect is that we can change
the color simply by filling the pores with a solvent! You can try this by adding a few drops of
methanol to a small amount of inverse opal powder in a glass vial, or by dripping some methanol
along the edge of the glass slides containing your sample (Figure 17).
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