Molecular Gun Composed of Carbon Nanotube

Journal article, 2011

Using molecular simulation, this paper predicts that by bending one end of the outer carbon nanotube (CNT) of a double-wall CNT (DWCNT), the inner CNT could possibly be shot out with a speed of several 100 m/s, and a kinetic energy of several eV from either left or the right end of the outer CNT, depending on the length of inner CNT. Analysis in this paper suggests that the outer CNT is a supplier of the CNT bullet's kinetic energy and the bullet can be shot out only if the outer CNT buckles while the inner CNT does not. Noticeably, such molecular gun could be practical in experiment environment since the bending of a CNT could be obtained by applying external electrical field.