Neutron bombardment of single wall carbon nanohorn (SWCNH): DSC determination of the stored Wigner-Szilard energy

Single wall carbon nanohorn (SWCNH) were neutron-bombarded to a dose of 3.28 × 1016 n/cm2. The Wigner or stored energy was determined by a differential scanning calorimeter and was found 5.49 J/g, 50 times higher than the Wigner energy measured on graphite flakes treated at the same neutron dose. The activation energy for the thermal annealing of the accumulated radiation damage in SWCNH was determined in the range 6.3–6.6 eV against a typical activation energy for the annealing of the radiation-damaged graphite which is in the range of 1.4–1.5 eV. Furthermore the stored energy in neutron-damaged SWCNH is released at 400–430 °C while the main peak in the neutron-damaged graphite occurs at 200–220 °C. The radiation damaged SWCNH were examined with FT-IR spectroscopy showing the formation of acetylenic and aliphatic moieties suggesting the aromatic C=C breakdown caused by the neutron bombardment.