This is a study of the low temperature kinetics of the sorption and subsequent desorption of 3He, 4He, H2, D2, Ne, and N2 by bundles of single-wall carbon nanotubes with closed ends (c-SWNT). The characteristic times of the sorption and desorption processes are the same to within the experimental error. Annealing a sample of bundles at 500 °C greatly reduces the characteristic times and changes their temperature dependences. The effect of annealing decreased with increasing molecular weight of the dissolved gas. At temperatures below 16 K the sorption times for 3He, 4He, H2, and D2 depends weakly on temperature, which suggests a tunnel character of the sorption for these impurities by nanotube bundles. The effect of γ-irradiation of nanotube bundles on the sorption and desorption of hydrogen is qualitatively similar to the effect of annealing.

The effect of radioactive irradiation on H2 sorption by bundles of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been investigated in various gas media. The samples were irradiated with γ-quanta (1.2 MeV) of 60Co ((1.5–1.7) × 107 rad) radiation at room temperature in deuterium, nitrogen, and oxygen atmosphere (P = 1 atm), and in a vacuum. The processes of H2 sorption and desorption in the SWNT bundles were investigated before and after irradiation in the temperature interval 12–1270 K. It is found that irradiation in a gas environment has a significant effect both on the low-temperature H2 sorption induced by the weak physical interaction, and the chemical H2 sorption by the SWNT bundles. A phenomenological model has been proposed to explain the defect generation in carbon nanotubes irradiated in gas media.

The kinetics of desorption both helium isotopes and molecules of hydrogen and deuterium from open-ended or γ-irradiated single-walled carbon nanotube bundles was investigated in temperature range of 10–300 K. The gases desorption rates obey the Arrhenius law at high temperatures, deviate from it with temperature reduction and become constant at low temperatures. These results indicate the quantum nature of gas outflow from carbon nanotube bundles. We had deduced the crossover temperature below which the quantum corrections to the effective activation energy of desorption become significant. This temperature follows linear dependence against the inverse mass of gas molecule and is consistent with theoretical prediction.