Carbon Atoms Moving at the Edge of a Hole in Graphene
The movie shows a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study of
the structure and dynamics of graphene at the edge of a hole in a suspended,
single atomic layer of graphene. The injection of electrons causes ejection
of carbon atoms, leading to rearrangement of the bonds at the edges into a zigzag
configuration, which represents the most stable form.
Although the physics of materials at surfaces and edges has been extensively
studied, the movement of individual atoms at an isolated edge has not been directly
observed in real time. With a transmission electron aberrationcorrected microscope
capable of simultaneous atomic spatial resolution and 1-second temporal resolution,
we produced movies of the dynamics of carbon atoms at the edge of a hole in
a suspended, single atomic layer of graphene. The rearrangement of bonds and
beam-induced ejection of carbon atoms are recorded as the hole grows. We investigated
the mechanism of edge reconstruction and demonstrated the stability of the "zigzag"
edge configuration. This study of an ideal low-dimensional interface, a hole
in graphene, exhibits the complex behavior of atoms at a boundary.
Run time: 0.15 mins