Motion and energy dissipation of single-walled carbon nanotube on graphite by molecular dynamics simulation

The motion and energy dissipation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have important influence on their application. This paper investigated the sliding of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on a graphite substrate using molecular dynamics simulation. An interesting phenomenon was observed in the commensurate interface. The carbon nanotube slid in not only the initial velocity direction but also perpendicular to the initial velocity with only a slight rolling in the later stage of motion. The direction and distance of motion were related to the initial interfacial configuration when the CNT started to slide and presented a certain degree of randomness. This phenomenon could be attributed to the SWCNT not having a platform on the bottom, which caused a low interfacial potential barrier. Therefore, no obvious 'stick-slip' occurred. In the incommensurate state, the SWCNT slid on the graphite substrate in the initial direction for the process, and the velocity slowly decreased. The temperature slightly influenced the carbon nanotube's motion mainly because of random thermal fluctuations. (papers)