Partial Dislocations in Graphene and Their Atomic Level Migration Dynamics

We demonstrate the formation of partial dislocations in graphene at elevated temperatures of ≥500 °C with single atom resolution aberration corrected transmission electron microscopy. The partial dislocations spatially redistribute strain in the lattice, providing an energetically more favorable configuration to the perfect dislocation. Low-energy migration paths mediated by partial dislocation formation have been observed, providing insights into the atomistic dynamics of graphene during annealing. These results are important for understanding the high temperature plasticity of graphene and partial dislocation behavior in related crystal systems, such as diamond cubic materials.