A nanoscale transmission system with novel-structured carbon nanotubes

Abstract

We present a prototype of nanoscale transmission system consisted of three novel-structured carbon nanotubes, namely, the “T,” “I,” and “Ω” type nanotubes. Double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) serve as joints and linear bearings in this system. Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to investigate the transmission properties. The obtained results show that this system can work at ultrahigh rotation speeds ∼109 rps with a broad temperature range 10–1000 K. The maximum variations of the output displacement in the stroke and lateral directions caused by the vibration are, respectively, 2.3–2.6 Å and 0.27–0.95 Å, which are 6.1%–7.0% and 0.7%–2.5% of the stroke length, respectively. Moreover, the displacement precision can be effectively improved by decreasing the input rotation speed or the temperature. The small change of the van der Waals potential energy in the DWCNTs indicates ultra low frictions in the joints, which contributes to the smooth transmission motion of the system. These results may suggest a new approach to the design of nanoscale electromechanical systems by taking different types of novel-structured carbon nanotubes.