Synthesis of (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O 3 Inverse Opal Photonic Crystals

(Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PLZT) inverse opal photonic crystals were synthesized by a sol‐gel process with synthetic opal templates of monodisperse submicrometer polystyrene spheres. This process involves infiltration of precursors into the interstices of the opal template, followed by hydrolytic condensation of the precursors and removal of the polystyrene opal combined with crystallization of PLZT perovskite by calcination at a final temperature of 750°C. By this method, PLZT inverse opal photonic crystals with a periodical structure of 280 nm center‐to‐center distance between the air spheres are prepared from opal templates of polystyrene microspheres with a mean diameter of 400 nm. The PLZT inverse opals reflect yellow‐green light strongly.