Molecular dynamics simulation study of a carbon-nanotube oscillator in a graphene-nanoribbon trench

A graphene/carbon-nanotube (CNT) hybrid material can be useful in energy storage and nanoelectronic technologies. Here, we address a CNT oscillator encapsulated in a graphene-nanoribbon (GNR) trench as a novel design, and investigate its properties via classical molecular dynamics simulations. Because the energy barrier was very low while the CNT was encapsulated in the GNR trench, the CNT absorbed on the GNR surface could easily be encapsulated in the GNR trench. MD simulations showed that the CNT oscillator encapsulated in a GNR trench was compatible with simple CNT oscillators, so we anticipate that the CNT in the GNR trench could work as an oscillator. Thus, we can anticipate that the CNT encapsulated in a GNR trench can be applied to ultra-sensitive nanoelectromechanical oscillators and that this system has the possibility to be applied to relay-switching devices and to shuttle memories.