(526g) Convective Deposition of Microsphere Suspensions Into Targeted Submomolayer Morphologies

We investigate the coupling between the suspension properties and the deposition process during convective deposition of unary suspensions of colloidal silica microspheres. Deposited thin films from this rapid and scalable process have use in a variety of optical, chemical, and biochemical sensing applications. We can direct the formation and ordering of our thin films in order to create multilayer, monolayer, or submonolayer morphologies. Here we investigate the formation of submonolayer microstructure with and without local order; by changing the parameters that dictate the properties of the thin film drawn across the substrate we see a transition from disordered singlet particles and multiparticle agglomerates to larger close-packed regions. Direct measurements of deposition are visualized via high speed confocal laser scanning and scanning electron microscopy in order to generate local dynamic information regarding the deposition as well as the long-range structure of assembled microsphere coatings.