Irradiation effects in carbon nanotubes

As recent experimental and theoretical studies demonstrate, irradiation of carbon nanotubes with energetic particles can successfully be used for nano-engineering, e.g. for creating molecular junctions between the nanotubes, making nanotube-based quantum dots and composite materials with enhanced mechanical properties. We briefly review the recent progress in our understanding of ion-irradiation-induced phenomena in carbon nanotubes with a specific stress on theoretical results. We point out the issues which still lack complete comprehension and further outline the most promising ways of using beams of energetic particles for nanotube-related nano-engineering. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.