Tunable Core Size of Carbon Nanoscrolls

Department of Structural Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, ItalyWe study the equilibrium core radius of a carbon nanoscroll (CNS) formed from spontaneous rollingof a graphene sheet. By a balance between the elastic bending energy and the van der Waalsinteraction energy in the system, we derive an analytical relation between the surface energy, thebending stiffness, the interlayer spacing, the length of a graphene sheet and the core radius of theresulting CNS. This relation is then quantitatively veri“ed by molecular dynamics simulations. Ourwork immediately suggests that the core size of a CNS can be actively controlled for applicationssuch as tunable water and ion channels, molecular sensors, as well as ”exible gene and drugdelivery systems.