Imperfections in the regular atomic arrangements in crystals determine many of the properties of the material, and their diffusion is behind many microstructural changes in solids. However, imaging non-repeating atomic arrangements is extremely difficult in conventional materials. In this study, we imaged for the first time directly diffusion of an atomic defect (two missing atoms) in graphene, the recently discovered two-dimensional wonder material, over long image sequences.
University press release: Observing the random diffusion of missing atoms in graphene
Publication: Imaging atomic-level random walk of a point defect in graphene: Jani Kotakoski, Clemens Mangler & Jannik C. Meyer. Nature Communications | 5:3991 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4991.
