Rapid preparation of TiO2-SiO2 heterostructure photonic crystal in the near-infrared region via a modified electrophoresis-assisted self-assembly process

Highlights: • TiO₂-SiO₂ heterostructure photonic crystal was rapidly fabricated. • The voltage played an important role in the electrophoresis-assisted self-assembly. • The photonic band gap of photonic crystal was in the near-infrared region. • The drawing process can accelerate the speed of self-assembling. - Abstract: TiO₂-SiO₂ heterostructure photonic crystal was rapidly fabricated by a modified electrophoresis-assisted self-assembly process. The effect of voltage on preparation and properties of TiO₂-SiO₂ heterostructure photonic crystal was discussed. The results of the tests show that TiO₂-SiO₂ heterostructure photonic crystal with different structures can be rapidly fabricated by controlling the voltage. With the increase of voltage, the TiO₂-SiO₂ heterostructure photonic crystal is more likely to form an ordered hexagonal array and shows a more bright and uniform color. Meanwhile, the central wavelength of the photonic band gap will be blue shifted in the near-infrared region.