Nanomachines Based on Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Due to the hollow cylindrical structure of CNTs, they are employed in the construction of nanomachines. Different types of CNT-based nanomachines have been designed and fabricated, so far. In these CNT-based nanomachines, the transportations of cargos are available along the length of nanotubes. In other cases, carbon nanotubes have been utilized to build rotary molecular machines, in which we observe the rotation of molecular objects around the nanotubes axis. Moreover, the carbon nanotubes have the potential to be used as gigahertz oscillators. In this chapter, we review some basic ideas of using nanotubes in the structure of nanomachines. The controllable mechanical motions have been reported in the CNT-based nanomachines, through the experimental and computational studies. Achieving the favorable precise movements at nano-scale is one of the most fascinating topics in the field of nanotechnology.