The present paper reviews the basic effects of electron beam irradiation on the structure of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The production of irradiation induced defects and their migration in CNTs are introduced, and the influence of irradiation on the structural transformation and dimension of CNTs is discussed. It is shown that the change in incident electron energy, ambient temperature and tube wall number will lead to the different irradiation results. It is expected that electron irradiation studies will continue to play an important role in the research on CNTs.
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