Optical Materials 117 (2021) 111146

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Optical Materials
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Research Article

Temporal dynamics of photonic stop-band in volatile solvent

infiltrated opals
Bhargavi Veeraghattam a, Prasanta Kumar Guha a, b, **, B.N. Shivakiran Bhaktha a, c, *
a
School of Nano-Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India
b
Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India
c
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The effect of the infiltration of volatile solvents in photonic crystals is experimentally studied. Silica particles
Silica opal were synthesized and the opal structures were fabricated by self-assembly technique. Solutions containing
Photonic stop-band various concentrations of methanol in ethanol were infiltrated in the opals and its effect on the temporal dy­
Volatile solvents
namics of the photonic stop-band during the evaporation process are studied. The recovery time of the solvent
Self-assembly method
infiltrated opals is found to depend on the vapour pressure of the infiltrated solvent. The fabricated opal
Saturated state
Pendular state structures exhibit recovery time of ~2.8 s and 1.5 s for ethanol and methanol solvents respectively, with good
Funicular state repeatability. A model is proposed to understand the behaviour of volatile solvents in opals, and the observations
made in the reflectance spectra are ascribed to the formation of saturated, funicular and pendular states. A
comparative study of volatile solvents such as acetone, methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol is also performed and
the effect of evaporation rates on the photonic stop-band is studied.

1. Introduction The fabrication of 3-D porous photonic crystals has been a challenge
and have been fabricated by processes such as photolithography, elec­
Photonic crystals are structures with periodic variations in their trochemical etching and self-assembly techniques [16]. Photolithog­
refractive index along one, two or three spatial directions. The period­ raphy techniques require the use of carefully optimised, expensive
icity gives rise to a photonic stop-band (PSB) which controls the motion photoresists, and electrochemical etching requires controlled etching
of photons in these structures [1]. Three-dimensional (3-D) photonic with hydrofluoric acid to obtain the required periodic structures with
crystals have an advantage of controlling the flow of photons along all control over the lattice constants, making it difficult to fabricate struc­
the directions, and a complete photonic bandgap can be envisaged. tures by these processes. In comparison, the self-assembly method [16,
Opal, a 3-D photonic crystal is a precious stone that exhibits iridescent 17] is a popular bottom-up approach, which is less expensive and easier
colours due to interaction of light with the periodic structure formed by for batch processing [17].
dielectric spherical particles arranged in face centred cubic (fcc) or On the other hand, methanol is a colourless liquid and has a sweet
hexagonal close packed (hcp) structure [2]. The fascinating properties of odour, produced from distillation of wood and fermentation of fruits or
photonic crystals have been exploited for various applications such as rice. Methanol is sometimes used as a denaturant additive for ethanol (e.
optical sensing [3], lasers [4], telecommunication [5], etc. In the field of g. in alcohol, sanitizer) and it is difficult to differentiate from ethanol.
sensors, these photonic structures respond to various input parameters Methanol is highly toxic, upon consumption, it may cause severe illness
such as gas [6], humidity [7], temperature [8,9], pH [10], mechanical such as blindness and sometimes death. Hence, detecting the concen­
strength [11], organic solvents [12], vapours [13,14], etc., making them tration of methanol in ethanol is very important for many applications
attractive for environmental, biological and chemical applications. The such as alcohol and biofuel adulteration [18,19]. Several methods have
optical properties such as transmittance or reflectance of the photonic been developed to detect the organic solvents and concentration of
crystals are used as probes to monitor variations in their refractive index methanol in ethanol. Porous silicon in various configurations has been
or lattice constant [15] in real time. widely used for detection of organic solvents [20–22], by real-time

* Corresponding author. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India.
** Corresponding author. Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India.
E-mail addresses: pkguha@[Link] (P.K. Guha), kiranbhaktha@[Link] (B.N.S. Bhaktha).

[Link]
Received 22 January 2021; Received in revised form 21 April 2021; Accepted 29 April 2021
Available online 17 May 2021
0925-3467/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
B. Veeraghattam et al. Optical Materials 117 (2021) 111146

Fig. 1. (a) FESEM image of the silica opal. (b) Normal incidence reflection spectrum of opal with the photonic stop-band centred at ~ 647 nm is observed.

Fig. 2. The time-dependent reflectance spectra recorded during the infiltration and evaporation of volatile compounds composed of different concentrations of
methanol in ethanol are shown for (a) 0%, (b) 20%, (c) 40%, (d) 60%, (e) 80%, and (f) 100%.

measurements of capacitance and conductance. Masturiba et al. [23], previous studies could not correlate the dynamic properties of the PSB in
proposed a chemical sensor for detecting concentration of organic sol­ the reflection spectra, such as its recovery time, to the properties of the
vents using surface plasmon resonance method, wherein high sensitiv­ infiltrated solvents.
ities have been obtained, however, the sensors are not economical for Here, we present a silica opal based refractive index sensor devel­
large scale production. Morisawa et al. [24], and Wu et al. [25], have oped using self-assembly method. The variations in the reflectivity and
proposed optical fibers based refractive index sensors that showed good central wavelength of the PSB are monitored when the mixture of
sensitivity. Sensors based on scotch tape [26] and polystyrene particles ethanol-methanol at different concentrations were introduced on the
[27] have also been investigated. In the aforementioned studies, the opal samples. This low-cost sensor exhibits very short response, recovery
response and recovery times of the sensors range between several sec­ times with good repeatability. An effort is made to correlate the dynamic
onds to an hour. Photonic crystal based sensors for detecting the pres­ response of the PSB to the properties of the infiltrated solvents. The
ence of volatile organic solvents have been presented in the past by study is extended to other solvents with different evaporation rates.
several groups [28–32]. Real time reflection measurements have also Finally, a model is proposed to understand the behaviour of volatile
been performed on the volatile solvent infiltrated photonic crystals to solvents in opals.
dynamically trace the behaviour of PSB as the solvent infiltrates and
evaporates from the porous photonic structures [33,34]. However, the

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Fig. 3. The reflection spectra recorded at four different times: (i) before solvent infiltration, (ii) during time interval T1, (iii) during time interval T2 and (iv) after
solvent evaporation, for different concentrations of methanol in ethanol (a) 0%, (b) 20%, (c) 40%, (d) 60%, (e) 80% and (f) 100%, are shown.

2. Experimental section Later, a thoroughly cleaned glass substrate was placed in the beaker,
making an angle of about 70◦ with the horizontal. The beaker was kept
2.1. Synthesis of silica particles in an oven for two days wherein the temperature was maintained at
40 ◦ C. As the solvent evaporated, the silica particles were deposited on
Monodisperse silica particles were synthesized by Stöber’s method. the glass substrate.
Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) from Sigma Aldrich (0.22 M), ammo­ The size of the silica particles and their ordering on the glass sub­
nium hydroxide (1 M) from Merck, ethanol from Sigma Aldrich and strate was studied using TESCAN LYRA 3 field emission scanning elec­
deionized (DI) water (15 M) were used as precursors. In Stöber’s tron microscope (FESEM). A halogen-deuterium lamp source coupled to
method, hydrolysis and condensation reactions of TEOS with ethanol a fiber-probe UV–visible reflectance spectrometer (Avaspec-
take place, in presence of water and ammonia solution [35]. Two so­ ULAS496CL) having a spectral range of 200–1100 nm was used to obtain
lutions were prepared, one with TEOS and ethanol (1:5.59) and the the normal incidence reflectance spectra and to determine the PSB of the
other using ethanol, DI water and ammonia solution (1:9.25:7.02). Both opal structures. To monitor the changes occurring in the PSB in the
the solutions were quickly mixed in a beaker and the mixture was presence of a volatile compound, a mixture of ethanol and methanol was
agitated at 40 ◦ C for 24 h using a magnetic stirrer. Later, the solution was introduced on the opal sample. The refractive index of the volatile
centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 30 min and was washed with DI water. This mixture was tuned by varying the concentration of methanol in ethanol
process was repeated 6 times and then the obtained particles were from 0 to 100% in steps of 20%. The refractive index of 100% methanol
placed in the oven at 80 ◦ C for 12 h for drying. (nmethanol) and 100% ethanol (nethanol) solvents are taken to be 1.3290
and 1.3614 respectively [37]. By dropping the mixture of methanol and
ethanol on the opal samples, the normal incidence reflectance spectra
2.2. Fabrication of silica opals were measured at regular intervals (750 spectra/minute). In order to
quantify the changes occurring in the PSB on introduction of the solu­
Silica opals were fabricated by evaporation assisted sedimentation tion, the volume of the added solution was kept fixed at 2 μl. A precise
(EAS) method [35]. In this method, 0.03 g of dried silica particles were micro-syringe from VICI (VICI liquid syringe, C-160 (10 μl)) having a
added to 3 ml of DI water in a 5 ml beaker and ultrasonicated for 1 h.

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B. Veeraghattam et al. Optical Materials 117 (2021) 111146

sample consists of voids and defects in the periodic arrangement of

particles, making them attractive for sensing applications. The normal
incidence reflection spectrum of the opal sample recorded using the
fiber-probe spectrometer is shown in Fig. 1(b). The PSB of the opal
structure is observed in the red region of the visible spectrum, centred at
~647 nm, wherein a maximum reflectance of ~30.5% is observed.
Using the modified Bragg’s law [3] described by equation (1), the
average diameter of the SiO2 particles is obtained to be 292.8 nm, which
matches well with the particle size obtained from FESEM image.
√̅̅̅ √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
2 ( )
mλm = 2 .D n2e − sin2 θ (1)
3
Here, m is the order of Bragg’s diffraction peak, λm is the wavelength
at which maximum reflectance is observed, D is the average diameter of
the spherical SiO2 particles, θ is the angle of incident light and ne is the
effective refractive index of the opal structure calculated using equation
(2).
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
( 2 )̅
ne = f .nSiO2 + (1 − f ).n2void (2)

Here, f is the fill factor of the close packed structure (for fcc structure,
the fill factor is 0.74 [35]), nSiO2 and nvoid are the refractive indices of
silica and void regions of the close packed structure. The void can be
filled with either air or any fluid in this study.
Volatile fluids that do not chemically react with the opal structure
Fig. 4. Time dependent changes in the reflectance image of silica opal recor­ were infiltrated into its voids and the shift of the PSB was continuously
ded: (a) before solvent infiltration, (b) during time period T1, (c) during time monitored by reflectance spectroscopy. As described by equations (1)
period T2, and (d) after complete evaporation. and (2), the PSB of the opal structure shifts upon the introduction of
volatile compounds into its voids due to the change in nvoid. Fig. 2 shows
the time-dependent normal incidence reflectance spectra of silica opal
structure during the infiltration and evaporation of volatile solvents
composed of different concentrations of methanol in ethanol. On
introduction of the volatile solvent the PSB momentarily disappears and
then reappears with a spectral-shift, and gradually reverts back to its
initial position. The time taken for reappearance of the PSB after the
infiltration of the volatile compound is referred to as the reappearance
time of the PSB (T1). The time taken by the shifted PSB to revert back to
its initial spectral position is referred to as recovery time of PSB (T2), as
depicted in Fig. 2 (a). Here, T2 is evaluated as the time taken by the PSB
to move from 90% to 10% of the total spectral shift.
Fig. 3 shows explicitly the reflection spectra, from Fig. 2, recorded at
four different times: (i) before solvent infiltration, (ii) during time in­
terval T1, (iii) during time interval T2 and (iv) after solvent evaporation,
for different concentrations of methanol in ethanol. Here, we notice that
the PSB disappears after infiltration of the volatile solvent and the
spectrum does not present any signature of PSB during the time interval
T1. In the time interval T2, a red-shifted PSB appears with a lower
Fig. 5. Effect of the concentration of methanol in ethanol on the reappearance reflectivity. Finally, the PSB returns to its original spectral position and
time (T1) and recovery time (T2) are shown. reflectivity after complete evaporation of the solvent. The perfect
overlap of the reflection spectra before infiltration and after evaporation
resolution of 0.1 μl was used for the experiments. of the volatile solvents predicts the reversibility of the opal structure.
The process of volatile solvent infiltration and evaporation were also
3. Results and discussions monitored using a brightfield optical microscope. Optical microscope
images (Fig. 4) of the opal sample were recorded in reflection geometry
Fig. 1(a) shows the FESEM image of the fabricated opal sample. The before and after solvent (ethanol) infiltration into opal. Fig. 4 (a)–(d)
SiO2 particles of average diameter 302 ± 25 nm are observed to be ar­ correspond to the time dependent changes in the reflectance image of
ranged in a quasi-periodic manner. The surface of the fabricated opal silica opal recorded: (a) before solvent infiltration, (b) during time

Table 1
Properties of various volatile organic solvents. T1 and T2 correspond to the reappearance and recovery time of the PSB, respectively.
Solvent Vapour pressure (kPa) [37] Surface tension (mN/m) [37] Viscosity (mPa.s) [37] Refractive index [37] T1 (s) T2 (s)

Acetone 30.80 23.46 0.306 1.3588 3.9 ± 0.1 0.2 ± 0.0

Methanol 16.90 22.07 0.544 1.3288 4.5 ± 0.4 1.5 ± 0.2
Ethanol 7.87 21.97 1.107 1.3611 7±1 2.8 ± 0.9
2-Propanol 6.02 20.93 2.044 1.3766 19 ± 1 18.2 ± 0.7

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B. Veeraghattam et al. Optical Materials 117 (2021) 111146

Fig. 6. (a) PSB reflectance peak wavelength and (b) reflectance (%) are shown at various times during the solvent evaporation process. (c) Comparison between
theoretical and experimental values of the PSB reflectance peak shift with respect to concentration of methanol is plotted. (d) The four evaporation stages of 100%
methanol in silica opal are identified.

period T1, (c) during time period T2, and (d) after complete evapora­
J = − (D / n)∇P (3)
tion. In Fig. 4(a) the optical microscope image appears red in reflection
geometry due to the PSB that lies in the red region of the electromag­ Here, J is the solvent or fluid flux, D is the permeability of opal, n is
netic spectrum. When the droplet of volatile solvent is dispersed on the the viscosity of the solvent and ∇P is the pressure gradient. The viscosity
opal structure, the solvent infiltrates the porous structure and the excess of ethanol (1.074 mPa s) is higher compared to that of methanol (0.544
solvent forms a meniscus over the surface of the opal. The generation of mPa s) [37]. T1 is found to depend on the viscosity of solvent [37], and
a smooth interface on the opal surface due to the excess solvent and the decreases with lowering of viscosity (i.e., with an increase in methanol
low index contrast between the solvent (1.36 for ethanol) and effective concentration) due to greater solvent flux. On an average, the value of
refractive index of opal structure (1.41) turns the opal transparent, T2 gradually decreases as the concentration of methanol in ethanol in­
making the letters written on a paper placed below the sample visible, as creases. This could be related to the lower vapour pressure of ethanol
shown in Fig. 4(b). The opal remains transparent during the time period compared to methanol (see Table 1). As the concentration of methanol
T1 till the excess solvent on the opal surface evaporates. The spectrally increases, the PSB reverts faster to its initial spectral position.
shifted PSB reappears in the reflection spectrum at the end of T1 after The red-shift of the PSB on infiltration of the volatile compound is
the excess solvent disappears from the opal surface and the corre­ related to the change in the refractive index of the void. The effective
sponding non-transparent optical microscope image is shown in Fig. 4 refractive index of the volatile compound infiltrated opal structure (ne)
(c). Fig. 4(d) shows the image after complete evaporation of the volatile is dependent on the concentration of methanol in ethanol. A small
solvent. change in the effective refractive index of the opal structure significantly
Fig. 5 shows the behaviour of T1 and T2 for different concentrations alters both, the PSB peak wavelength and the PSB peak reflectivity, as
of the volatile compound. The measurements of T1 and T2 were per­ seen in Fig. 2. The temporal dynamics of the PSB, its spectral position
formed at 3 different positions on the sample, and a standard deviation and reflectivity, with different concentrations of methanol are shown in
of the values were evaluated to predict the errors. On an average, both Fig. 6(a) and (b) respectively, after time T1 has elapsed. The decrease in
T1 and T2 are found to decrease with the increase in concentration of T1 as a function of methanol concentration and the continuous change
methanol in ethanol. The error bars could probably be reduced by of the PSB spectral position and reflectivity are evident. Fig. 6(c) shows
improving the sample fabrication process, and by the use of opal the plot of the maximum shift of PSB position, obtained on introduction
structures having better periodicity over larger volumes. The details of of the volatile solvent in the opals, as a function of concentration of
the flow of the volatile solvent in the opal structure can be understood methanol in ethanol. The experimental data points are the averaged
with the help of Darcy’s law described by equation (3), wherein the values obtained from Fig. 2 and from two more similar measurements
solvent flux is inversely related to the solvent viscosity [36]. performed at different locations on the sample. The theoretical data
points are obtained from equation (1). As the concentration of methanol

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B. Veeraghattam et al. Optical Materials 117 (2021) 111146

Fig. 7. Schematic of the processes involved in solvent infiltration and evaporation in opal. (a) Opal without solvent infiltration; (b) solvent infiltration in opal using
micro-syringe; (c) Warm-up period (c) constant rate drying period; (d) first falling rate drying period; (e) second falling rate drying period. T1 and T2 correspond to
the reappearance time and recovery time, respectively. The states A, B, C, D, and E are identified as per Fig. 6(d).

in ethanol increases from 0 to 100%, the maximum shift of the PSB peak- Consequently, the moisture present at the bottom layers of the porous
wavelength on-average decreases because the refractive index of material moves by the vapour flow [36].
methanol is lower than that of ethanol. The mismatch between the The various stages of volatile solvent penetration and evaporation
theoretical and experimental data points can be attributed to the fact can also be observed in the reflection spectra shown in Fig. 6(d), and an
that the fill factor of the fabricated opal structure is lower than that used interlink can be perceived between the variation of PSB reflectance peak
for theoretical calculations [38]. Also, the experimentally observed wavelength and the rate of evaporation. In Fig. 6(d), the changes in the
higher dynamic range is interesting and could be related to the disorder PSB reflectance peak wavelength can be divided into four stages. The
present in the opal structure. However, further studies are necessary in temporal extent of these stages, which depend on the solvent properties,
this direction. In Fig. 6(d), the points A, B, C, D, and E represent the have been identified in Fig. 6(d) for the case corresponding to 100%
different stages of the evaporation process (discussed later), for the case methanol.
of 100% methanol infiltrated in the opal structure. The four stages are: initial drying period (A to B), constant rate
The evaporation dynamics in porous media can be classified into drying period (B to C), first falling rate drying period (C to D) and second
several stages. Fig. 7 shows the different steps involved in the evapo­ falling rate drying period (D to E) [36,39,41]. When the solvent is
ration of volatile solvent from an opal structure. In Fig. 7(a) and (b), the introduced in the porous material as shown in Fig. 7(b), some amount of
air-filled opal structure and the introduction of volatile organic com­ the solvent gets saturated on the external surface of the porous material
pound on the silica opal using a micro-syringe are depicted, respectively. (opal) due to the higher viscosity of the solvent, lower permeability of
In porous media, volatile compound evaporation takes place by liquid the material or over infiltration of solvent, and the remaining solvent
diffusion or capillary action (Fig. 7(d) and (e)), and by vapour diffusion flows through the opal. In the initial drying period, the PSB reappears
(Fig. 7(f)) [39]. The capillary action depends on the surface tension, and shifts gradually to shorter wavelengths. During this period, the
density of the solvent and the dimension of the pore, whereas, the volatile solvent on the opal surface starts to evaporate and initiates the
diffusion depends on the concentration gradient. Furthermore, the dis­ formation of air voids on the surface as shown in Fig. 7(c). In constant
tribution of solvent or moisture in a porous medium during drying is rate drying period, the solvent evaporates from the external surface of
classified into three states namely, saturated, funicular and pendular the porous material as shown in Fig. 7(d) and the opal is still in saturated
states [40]. In saturated state, the external surface of porous material is state. During this period, the rate of evaporation per unit area of a
filled with the solvent (Fig. 7(c) and (d)). In funicular state, the solvent porous medium is a constant because the solvent present inside the
phase is continuous around the spherical particles (Fig. 7(e)). In material migrates to the surface of the material by capillary action or by
pendular state, the solvent exists around the spherical particles but the solvent diffusion, maintaining the saturation state at the surface of the
solvent phase is discontinuous Fig. 7(f) [36,40]. Initially, the solvent material. Hence the stage from B to C in Fig. 6(d) is called the constant
starts evaporating from the external surface. During this process, the rate drying period. Here, the rate of evaporation is higher compared to
evaporation continues as long as the solvent migrates to the external other stages and depends on the vapour pressure of the solvent and the
surface from within the porous material through capillary action. Thus, ambient vapour pressure. This process continues until critical moisture
the surface moisture is removed and discontinuity in the solvent phase appears on the surface of the porous medium. At point C, critical
emerges, due to the presence of air substitutes in the pores. moisture appears and the first falling rate drying period starts. In this

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B. Veeraghattam et al. Optical Materials 117 (2021) 111146

Fig. 8. (a) Effect of various solvents on the PSB peak wavelength as a function of time is shown; (b) and (c) the reflection spectra recorded at four different times: (i)
before solvent infiltration, (ii) during time interval T1, (iii) during time interval T2 and (iv) after solvent evaporation, for acetone and 2-propanol, respectively.

period, the moisture is barely present over the surface. The external with similar values of surface tension. Four different solvents, acetone,
surface of the material is in funicular state. First falling rate drying methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol are infiltrated into the opal structure,
period depends on the rate of the moisture movement from within the one at a time, and their normal incidence reflectance spectra are
porous material to the exposed surface. In this case, capillary action recorded as a function of time, similar to that in Fig. 6(a). The position of
continues until there is an equilibrium achieved between capillary and the PSB reflectance peak wavelength as a function of time is shown in
gravitational forces. When gravitational force dominates the capillary Fig. 8(a) for four different solvents. Fig. 8(b) and (c) show the revers­
force, the transport of solvent from within the material to exposed sur­ ibility of the structure upon infiltration and evaporation of acetone and
face seizes. The phase continuity of the solvent is interrupted because air 2- propanol, respectively. Similar to the observations made in the case of
enters into the pores giving rise to the formation of funicular state at the methanol-ethanol mixture, the PSB disappears after infiltration of the
exposed surface (Fig. 7(e)). The rate of evaporation is slower compared volatile solvent and a red-shifted PSB reappears in the time interval T2
to constant rate drying period because the average amount of moisture is in. The PSB returns to its original spectral position and reflectivity after
reduced, and hence it is named as the first falling rate drying period, complete evaporation of the solvent. Table 1, presents the different
from C to D in Fig. 6(d). At the end of this period, the surface of the values of T1 for solvents of different viscosities. As the viscosity of sol­
material is dry to a large extent and it leads to pendular state at the vent increases, the value of T1 also increases as observed in Fig. 8.
surface of the porous material leading to the second falling rate drying Furthermore, in Fig. 8, the solvents having different vapour pressures
period (from D to E in Fig. 6(d)). In Fig. 7(f), the solvent evaporates by behave differently and the recovery time (T2) is found to depend on the
only vapour diffusion through the pores in the opal structure. In this vapour pressure of solvent. Acetone, with the highest vapour pressure
period, the rate of evaporation is slowest compared to the prior periods among the four solvents, evaporates fastest and 2-propanol, with the
due to very low average moisture content in the porous media, and lowest vapour pressure, evaporates slowest. The vapour pressure and
hence is named as the second falling rate drying period (from D to E in the recovery time of the solvent infiltrated opal structure are observed to
Fig. 6(d)). At the end of this period, the porous material dries completely be inversely proportional to each other in Table 1. The large recovery
and reverts back to the initial state shown in Fig. 7(a), and the PSB time of 18.24 s observed for 2-propanol infiltrated opal can be related to
reflectance peak wavelength consequently returns to its initial value its relatively low vapour pressure and high viscosity. The porous opal
observed before the infiltration of the solvent. It is to be noted that the structures can thus be used to study a variety of properties of volatile
time taken by the solvent to evaporate depends on the thickness of the solvents based on the behaviour of the PSB.
porous material.
We briefly extended this work to various volatile solvents having 4. Conclusion
different chemical properties tabulated in Table 1. The time required for
the evaporation of a solvent depends on vapour pressure, viscosity and Silica spheres of diameter ~302 ± 25 nm were synthesized by
surface tension of the solvent [36]. Here, we have chosen the solvents Stöber’s method. Opal structure was fabricated on glass substrates by

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