For single vacancies, their different structural features in zig-zag and armchair carbon nanotubes, and their stabilities in carbon nanotubes with different sizes and different symmetries were systematically addressed. The presence of single vacancies in carbon nanotubes not only influenced the electronic structures of the systems, but also affected the vibrational properties of the nanotubes. Being active chemically, the single vacancies in the tubes preferred to interact with nearby adsorbates; including interaction of the defects with hydrogen atoms, hydrogen molecules and some small hydrocarbon radicals (-CH, -CH2 and -CH3). The former was associated with H storage and the latter was of interest in improving the local structure of the defect in a carbon nanotube. For the Stone-Wales defect, attention was focused mainly on its stability in various carbon nanotubes. The influence of the Stone-Wales defects on the conductance of carbon nanotubes and the identification of such a defect in carbon nanotubes were considered.

Studies on Structural Defects in Carbon Nanotubes. H.Y.He, B.C.Pan: Frontiers of Physics in China, 2009, 4[3], 297-306