Crystals, glasses and gels: synthesis and phase behavior of soft colloids

Colloidal suspensions are an experimental model system for studying structural and mechanical properties of soft materials. These properties are manifested differently in colloidal solid-like phases such as crystals, glasses and gels. To further understand relations between structural and mechanical properties, it is necessary to develop well-defined colloids and employ techniques such as microscopy and rheology to study the structure and mechanics of their suspensions. This thesis presents five experimental chapters dealing with the synthesis and characterization of colloids and their suspensions. The first part of the thesis describes facile synthesis methods for latex, conjugated polymer and microgel colloids. In the second part, measurements of crystal-to-glass and glass-to-gel phase transformations in dense suspensions of microgel particles are presented.