A translational nanoactuator based on carbon nanoscrolls on substrates

摘要

Inspired by recent experimental studies on the fabrication of carbon nanoscrolls (CNSs) on solid substrates, we perform theoretical study and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the translational rolling/unrolling of a CNS on rigid substrate. We show that a substrate-supported CNS can be controlled to roll forward and backward by tuning its interlayer interaction energy via an external field. The typical energy release rate per unit area of rolling for such controllable and reversible linear motion is estimated to be in the range of (-0.06)–0.08 nNm, indicating promising applications as actuators and motors in nanomechanical systems.