Attraction between topological defects in graphene

TL;DR

This study uses computer simulations to show that Stone-Wales defects in graphene attract each other, potentially forming clusters, which may explain the material's crumpled texture observed experimentally.

Contribution

It demonstrates the attractive interaction between topological defects in graphene and links this to structural deformations observed experimentally.

Findings

Defects form configurations with energies below spaced defect pairs.

Attraction is caused by interference of defect-induced distortions.

Strong deformations may lead to crumpled graphene textures.

Abstract

The interaction of Stone-Wales topological defects in graphene has been studied through computer simulation. This simulation has revealed configurations of two defects with energies below the energy of a monolayer with two spaced defects. This indicates the attraction between defects and the possibility of the formation of their clusters. The attraction is due to the interference between defect-induced wavy distortions of the structure of the monolayer. In this case, the amplitude of transverse displacement of atoms near a pair of defects reaches 2-3 angstroms. Such a strong deformation of graphene by Stone-Wales defects can be one of the reasons for its experimentally observed "crumpled" texture.