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Optical and physical properties of iridescent photonic crystals obtained by self‐assembled polymethyl methacrylate nanospheres within graphene oxide nanoplatelets
Author(s) -
Haddadine Nabila,
Agoudjil Karima,
Abouzeid Khaled,
Castano Carlos E.,
Bouslah Naima,
Benaboura Ahmed,
Samy ElShall M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.4109
Subject(s) - materials science , graphene , iridescence , structural coloration , photonic crystal , polymer , photonics , oxide , visible spectrum , scanning electron microscope , raman spectroscopy , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , optics , composite material , physics , metallurgy
Opal photonic crystals prepared by vertical templating of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanospheres in aqueous graphene oxide (GO) solutions were successfully obtained. The results show that increasing the PMMA nanospheres' size leads to the modification of the d ‐spacing in GO nanoplatelets, inducing brilliant iridescence colors that span the entire visible electromagnetic spectrum. Scanning electron microscopy study shows a uniform distribution of GO nanoplatelets on the surface and the bulk of the opal photonic crystals. The reflectance spectra exhibit a significant red shift from 385 to 660 nm when the nanospheres' size increases from 160 to 306 nm, respctively. The Raman spectra show a systematic decrease in the intensity ratio of the D to G bands of GO ( I D / I G ), suggesting a partial reduction of graphene oxide with decrasing the extent of defects in the partially reduced GO nanoplatelets. This finding is confirmed by the significant decrease observed in the intensity of the hydroxyl band in the attenuated total reflectance mode‐Fourier transform infrared spectra of the photonic crystals. The results provide the first demonstrated example of intercalated assemblies of polymer nanospheres within GO nanosheets, leading to photonic crystals with brilliant iridescence colors that span the entire visible electromagnetic spectrum and can be tuned only by varying the size of the PMMA nanospheres.