Abstract Operation of a laser-driven nano-motor inevitably generates a non-trivial amount of heat, which can possibly lead to instability or even hinder the motor's continual running. This work quantitatively examines the overheating problem for a recently proposed laser-operated molecular locomotive. We present a single-molecule cooling theory, in which molecular details of the locomotive system are explicitly treated. This theory is able to quantitatively predict cooling efficiency for various candidates of molecular systems for the locomotive, and also suggests concrete strategies for improving the locomotive's cooling. It is found that water environment is able to cool the hot locomotive down to room temperature within 100 picoseconds after photon absorption. This cooling time is a few orders of magnitude shorter than the typical time for laser operation, effectively preventing any overheating for the nano-locomotive. However, when the cooling is less effective in non-aqueous environment, residual heat may build up. A continuous running of the motor will then lead to a periodic thermodynamics, which is a common character of many laser-operated nano-devices.
Received: 23 January 2007
Revised: 13 November 2007
Accepted manuscript online:
Fund: Project
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant
No 90403006), Chinese Ministry of Education (the Programme for New
Century Excellent Talents in University), Shanghai Education
Development Foundation of China (the Shuguang Prog
Cite this article:
Li Dan(李丹), Zheng Wen-Wei(郑文伟), and Wang Zhi-Song(王志松) Periodic thermodynamics of laser-driven molecular motor 2008 Chin. Phys. B 17 1916
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