Rotating-Electric-Field-Induced Carbon-Nanotube-Based Nanomotor in Water: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Md Mushfiqur Rahman; Mokter Mahmud Chowdhury; Md Kawsar Alam

doi:10.1002/smll.201603978

Rotating-Electric-Field-Induced Carbon-Nanotube-Based Nanomotor in Water: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Small. 2017 May;13(19). doi: 10.1002/smll.201603978. Epub 2017 Mar 29.

Authors

Md Mushfiqur Rahman¹, Mokter Mahmud Chowdhury², Md Kawsar Alam¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, 1205, Bangladesh.
² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.

PMID: 28371324
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201603978

Abstract

Using molecular dynamics simulations, it is shown that a carbon nanotube (CNT) suspended in water and subjected to a rotating electric field of proper magnitude and angular speed can be rotated with the aid of water dipole orientations. Based on this principle, a rotational nanomotor structure is designed and the system is simulated in water. Use of the fast responsiveness of electric-field-induced CNT orientation in water is employed and its operation at ultrahigh-speed (over 10¹¹ r.p.m.) is shown. To explain the basic mechanism, the behavior of the rotational actuation, originated from the water dipole orientation, is also analyzed . The proposed nanomotor is capable of rotating an attached load (such as CNT) at a precise angle as well as nanogear-based complex structures. The findings suggest a potential way of using the electric-field-induced CNT rotation in polarizable fluids as a novel tool to operate nanodevices and systems.

Keywords: NEMS; carbon nanotubes; molecular dynamics; nanomotors; nanotube-water interactions.