Imperfections in the regular atomic arrangements in crystals
determine many of the properties of a material, and their diffusion is behind
many microstructural changes in solids. However, imaging non-repeating atomic
arrangements is difficult in conventional materials. Now, researchers at the
University of Vienna have directly imaged the diffusion of a butterfly-shaped
atomic defect in graphene, the recently discovered two-dimensional wonder material,
over long image sequences. The results are published in the prestigious journal
Nature Communications.