Chapter 6: The Advanced Microscopy of Colloids

Modern colloidal researchers are equipped with a suite of microscopes which facilitate the accurate characterization of colloids, microscopic features, and even individual atoms. Colloids, which range in diameter from one nanometer to one micron, present a challenging material to accurately characterize due to the broad range in size over which they span. By harnessing a variety of analytical probes including light, X-rays, ions, and electrons, today's spectrum of microscope instrumentation can resolve ever smaller microscopic features. Microscope resolution has consistently improved over the years due to innovative technological advances including the improvement of lenses, mitigation of aberrations, and the employment of analytical probes with ever smaller wavelengths – which reduce the diffraction barrier of the microscope. These technological developments have positioned microscopy as an essential technique for colloid characterization, as it allows the researcher to visibly image newly synthesized colloidal specimens. This chapter will review the spectrum of microscopes available to the modern researcher for the characterization of colloidal materials.