Photodesorption of oxygen from carbon nanotubes

Abstract

We propose to use photodesorption as a noninvasive tool to clean carbon nanotubes from oxygen, offering a clear advantage over thermal and chemical treatments. The detachment of chemisorbed oxygen from atomic vacancies is triggered by a resonant Auger process, initiated by an O 1s → O 2p transition, which leaves two holes in the O 2s level. In the electronically excited state, oxygen desorbs spontaneously, with no damage to the carbon network or the cylindrical nanotube shape. Subsequent reaction of oxygen atoms with H2 molecules is shown to prevent reoxidation of the nanotube.