Chapter 3 - Assembly of Colloidal Particles into Nanostructured Materials and Microscopic Devices

Abstract

This chapter describes the assembly of colloidal particles into nanostructured materials and microscopic devices. Significant and increasing scientific interest exists in ordered 2D and 3D structures assembled from colloidal particles. The chapter summarizes the principles used in the 2D and 3D assembly of crystalline colloids to compare various methods based on these principles, and to present some of the emerging applications of the assembled structures. The field of colloidal crystallization encompasses an enormous variety of systems. The assembly of colloidal crystals and more advanced particle structures is also likely to benefit from the new tools being developed for micromanipulation and micromachining. A whole new world of technological opportunities has been opened by the recent advanced in microfluidics. The assembly of organized and functional structures from colloidal particles is an exciting, strongly competitive research field where new ideas and experimental advances emerge daily, guaranteeing that practical applications will rapidly follow.