Chemists may be misassigning defects in carbon materials, study suggests

Certain peaks in the spectra of carbon-based materials can arise from multiple defects, researchers have concluded after computational analysis revealed that non-hexagonal rings, oxygen-containing functional groups and vacancy defects can generate similar signals. As a result, chemists may have been misassigning some peaks and overlooking opportunities to tailor the properties of such materials by deliberately introducing defects.

Carbon-based materials, such as carbon fibre, graphene and carbon nanotubes, are used in fuel cells, insulation, aerospace engineering and many other applications. Their specific properties depend on atomic structure, including the type and distribution of defects.