中国物理B ›› 2008, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (5): 1916-1924.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/17/5/062

• 8000 CROSSDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY • 上一篇    下一篇

Periodic thermodynamics of laser-driven molecular motor

李 丹, 郑文伟, 王志松   

  1. Key Laboratory of Applied Ion Beam Physics, Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
  • 收稿日期:2007-01-23 修回日期:2007-11-13 出版日期:2008-05-20 发布日期:2008-05-20
  • 基金资助:
    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

Periodic thermodynamics of laser-driven molecular motor

Li Dan(李丹), Zheng Wen-Wei(郑文伟), and Wang Zhi-Song(王志松)†   

  1. Key Laboratory of Applied Ion Beam Physics, Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
  • Received:2007-01-23 Revised:2007-11-13 Online:2008-05-20 Published:2008-05-20
  • Supported by:
    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

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摘要： 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.

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.

Key words: molecular motor, vibrational relaxation, photoisomerization

中图分类号:  (Molecular electronic devices)

  • 85.65.+h
44.10.+i (Heat conduction) 85.35.-p (Nanoelectronic devices)