Binary colloidal crystals with a wide range of size ratios via template-assisted electric-field-induced assembly

Here we present a simple but general method for constructing complex binary colloidal crystals with an almost full range of size ratios, which is referred to as template-assisted electric-field-induced assembly (TAEFIA). The dependence of the structures of binary colloidal crystals on size ratio (gamma) and volume fraction (phi) of the colloidal suspension was investigated. Binary colloidal crystals with gamma ranges from 0.10 to 0.91 were fabricated, and an attempt to fabricate a triple colloidal crystal via TAEFIA was presented. We suggest that TAEFIA is a versatile way to grow colloidal crystals with binary or more complex structures.