Early theoretical works had predicted that the electronic properties of so-called ideal carbon nanotubes depended upon their diameter and chirality. However, defects such as pentagons, heptagons, vacancies and dopants were then found to modify markedly the electronic properties of these nanosystems. Irradiation processes could produce highly defective nanostructures and also the coalescence of nanotubes within a rope. The introduction of defects into the carbon network was thus a means for tailoring the intrinsic properties and create new potential nanodevices. The present work investigated theoretically the effects of various types of defect on the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes.

Defects in Carbon Nanotubes. J.C.Charlier: Accounts of Chemical Research, 2002, 35[12], 1063-9