Improving the Adhesion of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes to Titanium by Irradiating the Interface with He Ions: Atomic Force Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study.

A complex study of the adhesion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to a titanium surface, depending on the modes of irradiation with He ions of the "MWCNT/Ti" system, was conducted using atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A quantitative assessment of the adhesion force at the interface, performed using atomic force microscopy, demonstrated its significant increase as a result of treatment of the "MWCNT/Ti" system with a beam of helium ions. The nature of the chemical bonding between multi-walled carbon nanotubes and the surface of the titanium substrate, which causes this increase in the adhesion of nanotubes to titanium as a result of ion irradiation, was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.