Electrophoretic deposition of synthetic opals templates from suspension of polystyrene nanospheres is described.
These templates were used for electrochemically induced precipitation of Ni-Al-LDHs having inverse opal (IO) structures.
The IO of the films survived heating at temperature high enough to convert the LDH into the corresponding mix oxides.
The inverse opal LDH coatings have improved electrochromic properties compared to similar films lacking the opal structure.
The color changes were more reversible when the IO films were heated to convert the LDH to mix oxides.