Effect of defects on the motion of carbon nanotube thermal actuator

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the movement behavior of double-walled carbon nanotube containing single atom vacancy defect and Stone-Wales defect. The carbon nanotube thermal actuator consists of a short outer tube and a long inner tube driven under temperature gradient. It is found that the presence of these defects introduces resistance of the nanotube systems, which affects their amplitude and speed. The oscillation motion of the outer nanotube is found possible to be produced, which can be achieved by devising proper initial position of the outer tube, the defect type and the temperature gradient. Our results demonstrate the effect of defects on the motion of carbon nanotubes and show that it is possible to control and tune the motion behavior of nanotubes through the introduction of defects.