Radio Waveguide-Double Ratchet Rotors Work in Unison on a Surface to Convert Heat into Power

Nano Lett. 2020 Sep 9;20(9):6891-6898. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c02898. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

Abstract

Synchronizing thousands of 100% efficient rotors in a macrodevice for harvesting noise is unapprehended. Thermodynamically, realizing a thermal gradient at the atomic scale is critical. Harvesting free thermal energy or noise by resonance has a hidden clause; either externally activating a directed self-powered motion or constructing a nanoscale power supply. To accomplish this, we combined two rotor concepts, Brownian rotor, BR, and power stroke, PS, rotors available in living systems in two planes of a single molecule. Quantum tunneling images reveal how a radio-wave guided synchronization of PS-BR combination tweaks rotational dynamics of a rotor to bypass the necessity of temperature gradient (ΔT). Live imaging of thermal noise movement as electron density between a pair of molecular planes helped in optimizing the rotor design. The rotor's monolayer harvests heat from the liquid's Brownian noise and electromagnetic noise, together delivering a finite, usable power. The chip supplies the power if we wet the surface or shine electric noise.

Keywords: Brownian rotor; Harvesting free energy; Molecular rotor; Power stroke.