First-principles molecular dynamics methods were used to study (111)c(2 x 8) surfaces at about 300C. At this temperature, the defect-free surface disordered via the correlated diffusion of adatoms along the [110] direction. The anisotropy of the diffusion arose from the special bonding topology of the c(2 x 8) structure. As in the case of stable (111)c(2 x 8) surfaces, charge transfer played an important role in the diffusion process.

N.Takeuchi, A.Selloni, E.Tosatti: Surface Science, 1994, 307-309, 755-60