The latest
microtechnique news from the California Institute of Technology reports how a one-atom layer of carbon can be used to visualise molecular structures at the atomic scale.
In a development called a "happy accident" by one of the team, studies using graphene - a carbon layer with the thickness of a single atom - threw up some anomalies.
Nanoscale island-like structures were seen when the graphene was layered on to a mica surface, when an entirely flat result was expected.
After investigating what may have gone wrong, the scientists discovered that they had found a new way to highlight surface features by adhering graphene to them.
James Heath, professor of chemistry at Caltech, says: "Almost all surfaces have a coating of water on them."
Graphene holds the molecules in place for a period of months at a time, allowing them to be studied without the water moving around and disrupting the readings.
Professor Heath's group at Caltech addresses a number of research objectives, including investigations of using scanning tunnelling microscopy to image wrinkles on graphene monolayers.
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