Herein we demonstrate improved mass transport through nano-particle one-dimensional photonic crystals of enhanced porosity. Analysis is made by impedance spectroscopy using iodine and ionic liquid based electrolytes and shows that newly created large pores and increased porosity improve the diffusion of species through the photonic crystal. This achievement is based on the use of a…
Osmotic shock in a vesicle or cell is the stress build-up and subsequent rupture of the phospholipid membrane that occurs when a relatively high concentration of salt is unable to cross the membrane and instead an inflow of water alleviates the salt concentration gradient. This is a well-known failure mechanism for cells and vesicles (for…
Mn-doped YInO3 blue pigments have been synthesised at a much lower temperature (1100 °C) than that required by the traditional solid state method (1400 °C). The developed procedure, which is based on the pyrolysis at 600 °C of aerosols generated from aqueous solutions of Y, In and Mn nitrates followed by an annealing treatment at…
In recent times, several synthetic pathways have been developed to create multilayered materials of diverse composition that combine accessible porosity and optical properties of structural origin, i.e., not related to absorption. These materials possess a refractive index that varies periodically along one direction, which gives rise to optical diffraction effects characteristic of Bragg stacks or…
A synthetic route to attain photonic multilayers that presents controlled porosity only at the middle-layer level is shown. The spectral resonance associated with this porous layer shows strong sensitivity to the presence of vapors adsorbed or condensed within the void network, providing a potentially relevant material for gas detection. The importance of the interplay between…
A procedure to prepare porous photonic crystal resonators containing gold nanoparticles is reported. The optical absorption of the ensemble, resulting from the excitation of the localized surface plasmon of the metallic beads, is finely tuned by a gradual shift of the cavity mode. This is achieved by infiltration of the void network with different guest…
Herein we present a detailed analysis of the optical response of artificial opal films realized employing a near-field scanning optical microscope in collection and transmission modes. Near-field patterns measured at the rear surface when a plane wave impinges on the front face are presented with the finding that optical intensity maps present a clear correlation…
