Different motion patterns of triple-walled carbon nanotube oscillators

Abstract

Carbon nanotube oscillators which can generate frequencies in the gigahertz range have attracted much attention in recent years. A number of studies on double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) oscillators can be found in the literature, while other mechanisms of these oscillators with a higher number of oscillating nanotubes have not been well studied. This paper aims to investigate the motion properties of triple-walled carbon nanotube (TWCNT) oscillators in which the inner and middle tubes have telescopic motions with respect to the outer tube. To this end, the continuum approximation together with the Lennard-Jones potential function is utilized. In comparison with DWCNT oscillators, the triple-walled ones have shown a variety of motion patterns. In this respect, different types of motion patterns are classified and demonstrated. Moreover, it is observed that these nano-oscillators are so sensitive to their initial conditions. For this reason, a phase division of initial separation distances that generate different motion patterns is also presented.