For this particular dislocation loop, it is thought that rather than unfaulting, 1/6 (111) {111} dislocations simply dissolve back into the lattice, in favor of the more stable 1/4 (110) {110} loops.12 As discussed earlier, the 1/6 (111) {111} dislocation can be pre­sumed to be relatively unstable because it possesses both anion and cation faults, and in addition, it cannot preserve stoichiometry or charge balance in either normal or inverse spinel.12 Counter to this argument is the idea that if a 1/6 (111) {111} dislocation loop incorporates a partial inversion of its cation content, then this loop could be made both stoichiometric and charge neutral. Such a dislocation would argu­ably be more stable. However, {111} loops are never observed to grow very large (<100nm) and are alto­gether absent in spinel samples irradiated at 1100 K.17 Therefore, it is likely that ‘disordered’ {111} intersti­tial loops are not an important aspect of radiation damage evolution in spinel.