Crystallographic defect
![Electron microscopy of antisites (a, Mo substitutes for S) and vacancies (b, missing S atoms) in a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide. Scale bar: 1 nm.[1]](/uploads/202412/21/MoS2_antisites&vacancies2453.jpg)



Crystalline solids exhibit a periodic crystal structure. The positions of atoms or molecules occur on repeating fixed distances, determined by the unit cell parameters. However, the arrangement of atoms or molecules in most crystalline materials is not perfect. The regular patterns are interrupted by crystallographic defects.