Abstract: In this paper, we have successfully fabricated the colloidal crystals of monodispersed polystyrene latex. Styrene was polymerized in-degassed water at 75 ℃, using potassium persulfate as an initiator. The surfactant was sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS). Firstly, the monodispersed polystyrene latex with an average diameter of some nanometers was synthesized via emulsion polymerization, then these small latex particles were used to act as seeds for further growth. The size of polystyrene latex was controlled between₅₀ nm and 400 nm via diversifying the condition of polymerization. The resulted emulsion solution could accumulate slowly to form three dimensional ordered structure, which was induced by capillary as the solvent evaporating at room temperature. The opal is close packed face center cubic(f.c.c) lattice of polystyrene latex. Defects such as vacancies, dislocations or grain boundaries could be obviously observed from the SEMimages. Reflectance spectra showed the red shift of specular reflectivity peak for the polystyrene colloidal crystal as the size of polystyrene latex increasing. It was demonstrated that the reflectance is intrinsic property of these colloidal crystals. This provides ideal model for the research and application of photonic crystals and form useful template for growth of various ordered macroporous materials.

Key words: Colloidal crystal, Monodispersed polystyrene latex, Self assemble, Reflectance spectra