The influence of entropic forces and pressure on the motion of a topological soliton in a carbon nanotube lying on a flat substrate

Alexander V. Savin

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2025, vol. 676, issue C

Abstract: With the help of the molecular mechanics method it is shown that for each flat substrate there is a definite interval of diameters at which single-walled carbon nanotubes on the substrate are bistable. They have two stable stationary states: open and closed (collapsed) states. With the help of molecular dynamic modeling it is shown that the transition region between these states in the nanotube is spatially localized and has the properties of a topological soliton (kink or antikink). The soliton dynamics can be described as the directional motion of a quasiparticle in a viscous medium under the action of three forces: a constant force related to the energy difference of the stationary states, an entropic force that depends linearly on temperature and force associated with external hydrostatic pressure (this force always acts against the entropic force). The magnitude of the velocity and direction of motion of the soliton depend on the diameter of the nanotube, on the temperature of the thermostat (temperature increase can lead to a change in the direction of motion) and on the pressure. It is shown that a one-dimensional model of a harmonic chain lying in a double-well asymmetric potential can be used to describe the soliton motion.

Keywords: Carbon nanotube; Nanotube collapse; Topological soliton; Entropic forces; Molecular dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:676:y:2025:i:c:s0378437125005308

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2025.130878

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