Molecular Motor Constructed from a Double-Walled Carbon Nanotube Driven by Axially Varying Voltage

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical design for a molecular motor using a double-walled carbon nanotube system driven by an axially varying voltage, demonstrating unidirectional rotation within an isothermal environment.

Contribution

It introduces a novel molecular motor concept based on DWNTs and models its operation using the Smoluchowski-Feynman ratchet framework, showing unidirectional rotation driven by voltage.

Findings

System exhibits unidirectional rotation under varying voltage

Interaction modeled with Lennard-Jones potentials

Motor operates in an isothermal bath

Abstract

A new molecular motor is conceptually constructed from a double-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT) consisting of a long inner single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) and a short outer SWNT with different chirality. The interaction between inner and outer tubes is the sum of the Lennard-Jones potentials between carbon atoms in inner tube and those in outer one. Within the framework of Smoluchowski-Feynman ratchet, it is theoretically shown that this system in an isothermal bath will exhibit a unidirectional rotation in the presence of a varying axial electrical voltage.