title: Structural transformation of fluorinated carbon nanotubes induced by in situ electron-beam irradiation.
abstract: We have investigated the structural transformation of fluorinated singlewalled nanotubes (SWNTs) induced by electron-beam irradiation during the transmission electron microscope observations. Heavily fluorinated SWNT bundles were systematically transformed into multiwall-like nanotubes by releasing fluorine atoms during electron-beam irradiation and even broken into two pieces of the capped graphitic structures. Such structural transformations at relatively low kinetic energy (< or = 300 keV) could be explained by the local strains induced by fluorination, where C-C bonds that were fluorine-attached became 1.53 A, a single bond similar to that of a diamond, from our density functional calculations. We propose a possible concerted pathway for the structural transformation of fluorinated SWNTs induced by electron-beam irradiation based on the experimental observations.
authors.affiliation: BK21 Physics Division, Institute of Basic Science, Center for Nanotubes and Nanostructured Composites (CNNC), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746, Korea.
authors.forename: Kay Hyeok
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Kyung Ah
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jeong Gu
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: Ji Yeong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kwan Ku
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Seong Chu
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Cheol Woong
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Young Seak
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lee