Innovation of novel functional material processing technique by using electrophoretic deposition process

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process, which involved a movement and deposition of charged particles in a solution according to an electric field, was applied to a creation of functional materials and devices. For example, this EPD method have been applied to prepare composite electrodes for rechargeable lithium batteries, separation layer for ceramic filter, and membrane electrode assembly for polymer electrolyte fuel cell. Recently, a technique using a local electric field generated in the EPD suspension was developed for a novel particle assembling. This technique is so-called “Micro-Electrophoretic Deposition (μ-EPD) Process”. A microdot consisting of monodisperse polystyrene or silica spheres have been already prepared, which worked as photonic crystals.