page_title: Carbon nanotube nanomotor
section_title: Thermal gradient driven nanotube actuators
hierarchical_section_title: Carbon nanotube nanomotor / Thermal gradient driven nanotube actuators
caption_attribution_description: Thermal gradient driven nanomotor. (A &amp; B): Scanning Electron microscope (SEM) images of experimental setup. (C) Schematic of the nanomotor also displaying degrees of freedom
context_page_description: A device generating linear or rotational motion using carbon nanotube as the primary component, is termed a nanotube nanomotor. Nature already has some of the most efficient and powerful kinds of nanomotors. Some of these natural biological nanomotors have been re-engineered to serve desired purposes. However, such biological nanomotors are designed to work in specific environmental conditions. Laboratory-made nanotube nanomotors on the other hand are significantly more robust and can operate in diverse environments including varied frequency, temperature, mediums and chemical environments. The vast differences in the dominant forces and criteria between macroscale and micro/nanoscale offer new avenues to construct tailor-made nanomotors. The various beneficial properties of carbon nanotubes makes them the most attractive material to base such nanomotors on.
context_section_description: The nanoactuator, as shown in Figure 2.1 comprises two electrodes connected via a long MWNT. A gold plate acts as the cargo and is attached to a shorter and wider concentric nanotube. The cargo moves towards the cooler electrode (Figure 2.2) due to the thermal gradient in the longer nanotube induced by the high current that is passed through it. The maximum velocity was approximated to 1 µm/s which is comparable to the speeds attained by kinesin biomotors.
caption: Figure 2.1: Thermal gradient driven nanomotor. (A & B): SEM images of experimental setup. (C) Schematic of the nanomotor also displaying degrees of freedom
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