Atomistic Simulations of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (DWCNTs) as Rotational Bearings

Sulin Zhang, Wing K Liu, Rodney S. Ruoff*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

127 Scopus citations

Abstract

Atomistic simulations of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) as rotational bearings were performed. Molecular mechanics (MM) calculations show that the interlayer energy surface of the bearings is nearly flat. Thermal effects on the bearings were studied with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at finite temperature. These simulations show that the interlayer corrugation against rotation, and hence the interlayer friction coefficient, is extremely small, suggesting the possible application of DWCNTs as wearless bearings. Extreme operational conditions of the bearings for which the bearings disintegrate are also reported.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)293-297
Number of pages5
JournalNano Letters
Volume4
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2004

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)

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