Density functional study of H-induced defects as nucleation sites in hybrid carbon nanomaterials

Recently we have reported on the growth of an exciting new class of hybrid nanostructured carbon materials, coupling nanosized diamond with single-walled carbon nanotubes. The inner structures were shown to be single-walled C nanotubes or bundles of single-walled nanotubes up to 15 μm long, and the outer deposit consisted of faceted diamond crystallites with diameters in the range of 20-100 nm. To aid in understanding the mechanisms responsible for the formation of such materials, the present study uses density functional theory to examine the role of atomic hydrogen in creating localized sp³ hybridized defects on the outer wall of carbon nanotubes. The results illustrate that certain absorption configurations may produce defects containing dangling carbon bonds, and thus promote the formation of suitable sites for nanodiamond nucleation.