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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Neutron Crystallography Data Collection and Processing for Modelling Hydrogen Atoms in Protein Structures
Published on: December 1, 2020
Fast Hydrogen Atom Diffraction through Monocrystalline Graphene
Pierre Guichard1, Arnaud Dochain2, Raphaël Marion2,3
1Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
Abstract:
We report fast atom diffraction through single-layer graphene using hydrogen atoms at kinetic energies from 150 to 1200 eV. High-resolution images reveal overlapping hexagonal patterns from coexisting monocrystalline domains. Time-of-flight tagging confirms negligible energy loss, making the method suitable for matter-wave interferometry. The diffraction is well described by the eikonal approximation, with accurate modeling requiring the full 3D interaction potential from density functional theory. Simpler models fail to reproduce the data, highlighting the exceptional sensitivity of diffraction patterns to atom-surface interactions and their potential for spectroscopic applications.
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