Rotation dynamics of double-walled carbon nanotube bundles during in-plane compressive deformation

Abstract

The nonlinear rotational behavior of radially deformed double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) bundles is investigated using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Results show that the hexagonal packing and transverse collapse of the DWCNTs decelerates the rotating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or even reverses the rotation direction. The increase in the line-edge roughness and compressive normal pressure between the CNTs act as a brake pad to decrease the linear speed of the rotating CNTs. The maximum breaking power exerted by structural deformation is characterized by the diameters of the DWCNTs and their instantaneous angular velocities. The proposed brake pad model presents a classical yet fundamental mechanism for directly engineering chaotic rotational dynamics in multibody nanosystems.