Dynamic response of a carbon nanotube-based rotary nano device with different carbon-hydrogen bonding layout

In a nano rotational transmission system (RTS) which consists of a single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) as the motor and a coaxially arranged double walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) as a bearing, the interaction between the motor and the rotor in bearing, which has great effects on the response of the RTS, is determined by their adjacent edges. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, the interaction is analyzed when the adjacent edges have different carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonding layouts. In the computational models, the rotor in bearing and the motor with a specific input rotational speed are made from the same armchair SWCNT. Simulation results demonstrate that a perfect rotational transmission could happen when the motor and rotor have the same C-H bonding layout on their adjacent ends. If only half or less of the carbon atoms on the adjacent ends are bonded with hydrogen atoms, the strong attraction between the lower speed (100 GHz) motor and rotor leads to a synchronous rotational transmission. If only the motor or the rotor has C-H bonds on their adjacent ends, no rotational transmission happens due to weak interaction between the bonded hydrogen atoms on one end with the sp ¹ bonded carbon atoms on the other end.