Multiscale study of hydrogen diffusion and clustering on carbon nanotube

In this paper we report the results of a multiscale study of hydrogen clusterization at the surface of (10,0) carbon nanotube. For this purpose, a systematic study of the binding energies and migration barriers of hydrogen adatom and various close adatom pairs of has been undertaken using density-functional theory approach. The interaction between hydrogen atoms on the surface of nanotube is shown to be long ranged and anisotropic. On applying the obtained potential energy surfaces for lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of chemisorbed hydrogen annealihg, a noticeable influence of the annealing conditions on cluster sizes, shapes and relative populations has bean revealed, which opens a possibility for the control of hydrogen clusterization kinetics. The effect on carbon nanotube electronic structure from hydrogen dimers and trimers most frequently met in lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulations is discussed.