Molecular motor constructed from a double-walled carbon nanotube driven by axially varying voltage

A new molecular motor is conceptually constructed from a double-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT) consisting of a long inner single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) and a short outer SWNT with different chirality. The interaction between inner and outer tubes is the sum of the Lennard-Jones potentials between carbon atoms in an inner tube and those in an outer one. Within the framework of the Smoluchowski-Feynman ratchet, it is theoretically shown that this system in an isothermal bath will exhibit a unidirectional rotation in the presence of a varying axial electrical voltage. Moreover, the possibility of manufacturing this electrical motor from DWNT is discussed under the current conditions of the experimental technique.