Investigation and calculation of filling factor of SnO2 inverse opal

Abstract

In the process of preparing inverse opal, the structure of inverse opal is affected by many factors, and the filling factor of inverse opal is difficult to directly test. In this paper, SnO2 inverse opal was prepared with the sol–gel method by cooperative opal template. The repetition times of the infiltrating precursor into the opal templates were investigated in detail. The band-gap positions of SnO2 inverse opal were tested. In order to prepare perfect inverse opal structure, the filling quantity of the precursor is greater, as the diameter of the PS microsphere of opal is bigger. The filling factor of air in inverse opal can be calculated with a formula derived from Bragg’s law. For inverse opal, the filling factor of air in inverse opal gradually enlarges as the diameter of the void increases.