Patterning Colloidal Crystals and Nanostructure Arrays by Soft Lithography

As one of the most robust and versatile routes to fabricate ordered micro- and nanostructures, soft lithography has been extensively applied to pattern a variety of molecules, polymers, biomolecules, and nanomaterials. This paper provides an overview on recent developments employing soft lithography methods to pattern colloidal crystals and related nanostructure arrays. Lift-up soft lithography and modified microcontact printing methods are applied to fabricate patterned and non-close-packed colloidal crystals with controllable lattice spacing and lattice structure. Combining selective etching, imprinting, and micromolding methods, these colloidal crystal arrays can be employed as templates for fabrication of nanostructure arrays. Realization of all these processes is favored by the solvent swelling, elasticity, thermodecomposition, and thermoplastic characteristics of polymer materials. Applications of these colloidal crystals and nanostructure arrays have also been explored, such as biomimetic antireflective surfaces, superhydrophobic coatings, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates, and so on.