Effect of Many-Particle Interactions on the Transport Properties of Low-Energy Ions in Carbon Nanotubes

Using the molecular dynamics method, the role of many-particle interactions in the dynamics of low-energy ions in carbon nanotubes has been studied, highlighting the necessity of considering such interactions in corresponding molecular-dynamic calculations. The effect of elastic perturbations of the carbon nanotube wall on ion motion inside the nanotube channel has been investigated. It was found that ion energy losses decrease by a factor of 1.5 to 3 when taking into account the effect of the wall perturbation on ion motion as the ion velocity approaches the perturbation propagation velocity. Additionally, it was shown that the interaction between moving ions and wall perturbations of the carbon nanotube becomes more monotonic with a decrease in the magnitude of thermal fluctuations of the nanotube wall in terms of ion energy losses. Within the considered model, the stopping power of the electron gas bound to the atoms forming the carbon nanotube wall is small compared to the energy losses of ions due to elastic collisions with nanotube atoms.