Control over the wettability of colloidal crystal films by assembly temperature

A facile method to fabricate colloidal crystal films with tunable wettability from an amphiphilic material polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-poly(acrylic acid) is presented. The wettability of the film can be tuned from superhydrophilic (CA, 0 degrees) to superhydrophobic (CA, 150.2 degrees) by varying the assembly temperature, while the position of the photonic bandgap of the colloidal crystal films remains virtually unchanged. The method could open new application fields of colloidal crystals in diverse environments.