Irradiation of carbon nanotubes with a focused electron beam in the electron microscope

The paper reviews in-situ electron irradiation studies of carbon nanotubes in electron microscopes. It is shown that electron irradiation at high specimen temperature can lead to a variety of structural modifications and new morphologies of nanotubes. Radiation defects such as vacancies and intersti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials science 2006-07, Vol.41 (14), p.4505-4511
Main Author: BANHART, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon nanotubes
Clusters, nanoparticles, and nanocrystalline materials
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Curvature
Electron beams
Electron irradiation
Electron microscopes
Electrons and positron radiation effects
Exact sciences and technology
Graphene
Interstitials
Lattice vacancies
Materials science
Mathematical morphology
Microscopes
Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals
Nanotubes
Physical radiation effects, radiation damage
Physics
Radiation damage
Rings (mathematics)
Structure of solids and liquids
crystallography
Topology
Vacancies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The paper reviews in-situ electron irradiation studies of carbon nanotubes in electron microscopes. It is shown that electron irradiation at high specimen temperature can lead to a variety of structural modifications and new morphologies of nanotubes. Radiation defects such as vacancies and interstitials are created under irradiation, but the cylindrically closed graphene layers reconstruct locally and remain coherent. The generation of curvature in graphene layers with non-hexagonal rings allows us to alter the topology of nanotubes. Several examples of irradiation-induced modifications of single- and multi-wall nanotubes are shown. Conclusions about the mobility of interstitials and vacancies are drawn which are important to explain the behaviour and the properties of nanotubes with an atomic arrangement deviating from the hexagonal network of graphene.
ISSN:0022-2461
1573-4803
DOI:10.1007/s10853-006-0081-0