Generation of open ends carbon nanotubes coordinates (atomic positions) is easy and the generation of cap for these carbon nanotubes is extremely difficult. Some of the half-fullerenes (C60, C240, C540…) fit as a cap for the armchair and zigzag nanotubes. NanotubeModeler (http://www.jcrystal.com/products/wincnt/index.htm) software generates the carbon nanotubes with cap but they are limited to few armchair and zigzag configurations.
We report the direct molecular dynamics simulations for molecular ball bearings composed of fullerene molecules (C60 and C20) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The comparison of friction levels indicates that fullerene ball bearings have extremely low friction (with minimal frictional forces of 5.283×10-7 nN/atom and 6.768×10-7 nN/atom for C60 and C20 bearings) and energy dissipation (lowest dissipation per cycle of 0.013 meV/atom and 0.016 meV/atom for C60 and C20 bearings). A single fullerene inside the ball bearings exhibits various motion statuses of mixed translation and rotation. The influences of the shaft's distortion on the long-ranged potential energy and normal force are discussed. The phonic dissipation mechanism leads to a non-monotonic function between the friction and the load rate for the molecular bearings.
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