Abstract
Infrared-assisted evaporative lithography (IRAEL) is presented as an emerging technology to direct the assembly of gold nanospheres (AuNSs) into large-scale superstructures within colloidal polymeric coatings. The organization of gold nanoparticle arrays within the superstructures can be tuned over length scales, ranging from micrometers up to several millimetres, giving rise to intrinsic plasmonic properties. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.