Moving Cargo Along Nanotubes
19 May 2008, 15:25
Categories: molecular-machines--devices NEMS--MEMS
Powering nanoelectromechanical systems will require compact ways of converting electrical energy into directed motion. A new paper by an international team of scientists describes a linear motor in which a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT), attached to electrodes at each end, serves as a track. A small section of the MWNT was decorated with a metal plate, and upon application of a large current, the remaining outer walls were ablated to leave a mobile sleeve. Passage of a smaller current through this assembly caused it to move toward one electrode, driven by the creation of a thermal gradient. The motion consisted of translation and rotational steps, and its overall direction was independent of the bias of the applied current.
Posted by: The Editors
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