Self-assembly of modified silica nanospheres at the liquid/liquid interface

A stabilized 2 or 3D silica sphere structure was successfully prepared by a 3-step method. First, the surfaces of silica spheres were modified with a functional silane coupling agent 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS); then, the surface-modified silica spheres were self-assembled at the liquid/liquid interface to fabricate a two- or three-dimensional ordered structure; and finally, the formed ordered structure was stabilized by a stable polymerization reaction among the modified silica spheres. The polymerized silica sphere film can be transferred from solution to quartz substrates without destroying its ordered structure. This ordered structure could be potentially used as a photonic band gap material or the template for fabrication of other highly ordered structures.