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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
Electrochemical methods have been used to produce three-dimensionally periodic metal meshes and spheres. Nickel is initially deposited into porous opal sheets. The opals themselves consist of close-packed silica spheres, which serve as a template for the growth of the nickel arrays within the void space between SiO2 spheres. Dissolution of the SiO2 spheres results in open, three-dimensionally periodic nickel mesh structures. The metal meshes can then be oxidized in air to produce nonconducting NiO meshes. This results in an inverse template that can be used for the growth of three-dimensionally periodic metal sphere arrays. Details on the preparation and characterization of these materials are presented.