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Conjugated carbon nanomaterials such as fullerene-nanotube, fullerene-graphene, and nanotube-graphene hybrids have great potential for various applications. This paper presents the schematics and energetics of a nonvolatile nanomemory element based on a fullerene-nanotube-graphene hybrid. The system proposed was composed of C60 fullerene and a nanotube placed on two graphene-nanoribbons with a gap. The C60 fullerene encapsulated in the nanotube can shuttle between two graphene-nanoribbons along the nanotube under the alternatively applied force fields. When the encapsulated C60 fullerene settles on the graphene-nanoribbons, the local energy minima are achieved from the attractive van der Waals potential energies. Since the C60 fullerene retains its position on the graphene-nanoribbon without external force fields, the proposed system can then operate a nonvolatile memory device.

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Graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) have been of interest for a building block in order to develop electromechanical devices on a nanometer scale. Here, we present the oscillation motions of a square GNF oscillator on graphene nanoribbon (GNR) in the retracting-motions by performing classical molecular dynamics simulations. The simulation results showed that the GNF oscillators can be considered as a building block for nanoelectromechanical systems such as carbon-nanotube (CNT) oscillators. The oscillation dynamics of the GNF oscillator were similar to those of the CNT oscillators. When the square GNF had an initial velocity as impulse dynamics, its oscillation motions on the GNR were achieved from its self-retracting van der Waals force. For low initial velocity, its translational motions were dominant in its motions rather than its rotational motions. The kinetic energy damping ratio rapidly decreased as initial velocity increased and the kinetic energy for the translational motion of the GNF oscillator rapidly transferred into that for its rotational motion. The oscillation frequency of the GNF oscillator was dependent on its initial velocity.

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