Liquid-impermeable inverse opals with invariant photonic bandgap.

Omniphobic inverse opals are created by structurally and chemically modifying the surface of inverse opals through reactive ion etching. During the etching, void arrays of the inverse opal surface evolves to a triangular post array with re-entrant geometry. The elaborate structure can efficiently pin the air-liquid interface and retain air cavities against water and oil, thereby providing liquid-impermeable inverse opals with invariant photonic bandgap.