The interaction of C60 fullerene and carbon nanotube with Ar ion beam

Abstract The interactions of C60 fullerene and carbon nanotube with Ar ion beam have been studied using XPS and AES in-situ techniques. The studies have shown that the shake-up peaks of C 1s and the valence band peaks of XPS in a C60 film disappear after it is irradiated with Ar ion beam. The conjugated π bonds in a C60 molecule are disrupted, and the ball structure of a C60 molecule is also destroyed by Ar ion beam. After a C60 film is irradiated with Ar ion beam, the binding energy of C 1s decreases about 0.3 eV and the kinetic energies of C KLL in XAES and in EAES increase about 1.9 and 1.5 eV, respectively. A new kind of carbon species, which does not contain the conjugated π bonds but keeps still sp2 hybridization, is formed. The shake-up peak of C 1s in carbon nanotube disappears also after it is bombarded with Ar ion beam. After carbon nanotube is irradiated with Ar ion beam, two characteristic peaks that are related to the dangling bonds in amorphous carbon appear in 9.6 and 22.6 eV. In contrast to the results of C60, the binding energy of C 1s increases 0.15 eV and the kinetic energy of C KLL in XAES decreases 1.6 eV after carbon nanotube is bombarded with Ar ion beam. The conjugated π bonds and the tube structure of carbon nanotube are destroyed by Ar ion beam. The carbon nanotube is changed into an amorphous carbon rod.