Photoresponsive Photonic Crystals Constructed From Azobenzene-Grafted Silica Microspheres

Abstract Azobenzene compounds have been widely used in many fields and through their response to light they can be used to regulate the properties of ordered structures. In this paper, sub-micrometer colloidal SiO2 spheres are prepared and azobenzene groups are grafted on the surface of SiO2 microspheres. The SiO2 microspheres grafted with azobenzene groups could self-assemble to form photosensitive photonic crystals (PCs), whose photonic bandgaps red-shifted as irradiated by UV light and showed good reversibility.