The high energy ion irradiation impact on carbon nanotubes

Abstract

High-energy ion irradiation can create defects, defects annealing depending on various parameters such as ion fluence and the energy loss of ions in the materials. The present report is concerned with the field emission properties of ion-irradiated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs). The carbon nanotubes synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition method were irradiated by high-energy (90 MeV) Au ions with different ion fluence from 4 1011 to 1 1013 ions/cm2. After ion irradiation, the field emission properties of MWCNTs and DWCNTs were greatly influenced. The change in the emission characteristics is due to structural defects caused by the high-energy ion irradiation. The emission characteristic of MWCNTs was improved and turn-on field decreased from 5.43 to 3.10 V/mm by ion irradiation. Noticeable improvement in emission characteristics of MWCNTs was observed at a fluence of 1 1013 ions/cm2. The emission characteristics of DWCNTs deteriorated and the turn-on field was increased from 2.44 to 7.76 V/mm. This results show the distinctly different behavior of ion-irradiated MWCNTs and DWCNTs. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015.