Structural defects inevitably appeared during the nucleation events that determined the structure and properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes. By combining ion bombardment experiments with atomistic simulations, it was revealed that ion bombardment in a suitable energy range allowed these defects to be healed, resulting in an enhanced nucleation of the carbon nanotube cap. The enhanced growth of the nanotube cap was explained by a non-thermal ion-induced graphene network restructuring mechanism.

Defect Healing and Enhanced Nucleation of Carbon Nanotubes by Low-Energy Ion Bombardment. E.C.Neyts, K.Ostrikov, Z.J.Han, S.Kumar, A.C.T.Van Duin, A.Bogaerts: Physical Review Letters, 2013, 110[6], 065501