Single-walled carbon nanotubes were damaged by low-energy electron and photon irradiation, to an extent that depended strongly upon the diameter. The formation and healing of the irradiation-induced defects were found here to be in competition during irradiation; even at room temperature or below. The diameter-dependence of the damage could be attributed mainly to a diameter-dependence of the activation energy of the defect healing. The activation energy was estimated to be about 1eV.

Healing of Low-Energy Irradiation-Induced Defects in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes at Room Temperature. S.Suzuki, Y.Kobayashi: Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2007, 111[12], 4524-8