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A model colloidal gel for coordinated measurements of force, structure, and rheology

We introduce a model gel system in which colloidal forces, structure, and rheology are measured by balancing the requirements of rheological and microscopy techniques with those of optical tweezers. Sterically stabilized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) colloids are suspended in cyclohexane (CH) and cyclohexyl bromide (CHB) with dilute polystyrene serving as a depletion agent. A solvent comprising of 37% weight fraction CH provides sufficient refractive index contrast to enable optical trapping, while maintaining good confocal imaging quality and minimal sedimentation effects on the bulk rheology. At this condition, and at a depletant concentration c = 8.64 mg/mL (c/c* = 0.81), results from optical trapping show that 50% of bonds rupture at 3.3 pN. The linear strain-dependent elastic modulus of the corresponding gel (volume fraction = 0.20) is G' = 1.8 Pa, and the mean contact number of the particles in the gel structure is 5.4. These structural and rheological parameters are similar to colloidal gels that are weakly aggregating and cluster-like. Thus, the model gel yields a concomitant characterization of the interparticle forces, microstructure, and bulk rheology in a single experimental system, thereby introducing the simultaneous comparison of these experimental measures to models and simulations.