Formation of Clusters of Interstitial Carbon Atoms in Graphite due to Deformation Interaction and their Spatial Arrangement

Formation of clusters of interlayer interstitial carbon atoms in graphite is studied by means of molecular dynamics simulation. It is shown that the deformation potential is attractive for interstitials located in one interlayer region and repulsive for interstitials located in different interlayer regions. As a result, relatively small interstitial clusters are formed which are arranged in a checkerboard-like order.