Stable rotation transmission of a CNT-based nanogear drive system with intersecting axes at low temperature

Using molecular dynamics simulation, the dynamic response of a nanogear drive system with intersecting axes was investigated. The nanogear drive system made from carbon nanotubes (CNT) contains two parts, i.e., a motor and a nanobearing. Their tube axes have an intersecting angle of θ. Due to van der Waals (vdW) interaction at their adjacent edges, the rotor in the bearing can be driven to rotate by the constant-speed motor. By increasing the value of θ, the vdW interaction decreases and the difference between the rotational frequencies of the motor and the rotor becomes larger. Especially, at temperature below 100 K, the system with θ = 60° has very stable and asynchronous transmission effect, which will benefit potential application of an asynchronous rotation transmission nanosystem in a nanomachine.