Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2012
A combined experimental and simulation approach into the impacts of electron irradiation on carbon nanotube morphology was conducted. Single-walled nanotubes (SWCNTs) were irradiated using a JEOL Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) using a range of accelerating voltages varying from 90keV to 200keV and temperatures between 300K and 800K with different exposure periods (order of minutes). The effects of irradiation were observed and characterised using electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Specimens were observed prior to, during and following irradiation to discern any changes that occurred in SWCNTs as a result of irradiation. Raman spectroscopy was used to characterise the different allotropes of carbon present in irradiated and non-irradiated samples of SWCNTs. Experimental conditions were mimicked using molecular dynamics simulation. SWCNTs were irradiated under conditions equivalent to experimental electron beam intensity and specimen temperature using AIREBO [1,2] and Primary Knock-on (PKA) approximation [3]. The preliminary results indicate that electron beam intensity and temperature affect the type and frequency of modification to CNT structure.