A nanoengine governor based on the end interfacial effect.

A conceptual design is presented for a nanoengine governor based on the end interfacial effect of two rotary nanotubes. The governor contains a thermal-driven rotary nanomotor made from double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) and a coaxially laid out rotary nanotube near one end of the nanomotor rotor. The rotation of the rotor in the nanomotor can be controlled by two features. One is the stator (the outer tube of DWCNTs) which has some end atoms with inward radial deviation (IRD) on the stator. The other is the relative rotation of the neighboring rotary tube of the rotor. As the configuration of the stator is fixed, the end interfacial interaction between the two rotors will govern the dynamic response of the rotor in the nanomotor system. The obtained results demonstrate that the relative rotational speed between the two rotors provides friction on the rotor in the nanomotor system. In particular, higher relative rotational speed will provide lower friction on rotor 1, which is opposite to that between neighboring shells in DWCNTs.