Watching Graphene Grow: Physicists Visualize the Formation Process
In a recent breakthrough, physicists from the University of Cambridge have successfully visualized the growth of graphene in real-time. Graphene is an atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice, and has been lauded for its incredible strength and remarkable electrical properties. Until now, scientists have only been able to infer the growth process of graphene from microscopic structures, but the Cambridge researchers have now developed a new technique that enables them to directly observe the process. By using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, the researchers were able to observe the motion of individual carbon atoms and measure the electrical characteristics of the emerging graphene sheet. This groundbreaking work provides an unprecedented level of insight into the growth of graphene, and is likely to pave the way for further research into this remarkable material.
source: Phys.org