Imaging and Spectroscopy of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes during Oxidation: Defects and Oxygen Bonding

Abstract

The gasification process, which increases the number of broken CC bonds and the abundance of particular oxygenated functional groups, is shown to destroy carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The expansion of the defect density and dimensions leads to nonlinear consumption of the CNTs with increasing O dose. Some nanotubes are consumed faster than others, most probably due to higher defect densities.