Magnetic and Structural Properties of Carbon Nanotori

Carbon nanotori are ring-shaped carbon nanostructures formed by bending or connecting sections of single-walled carbon nanotubes into a toroidal geometry. Their unique curvature induces strain and topological defects that profoundly affect mechanical stiffness, vibrational modes and electronic band structure. Toroidal curvature can localise electronic states, leading to enhanced magnetic moments and the emergence of persistent currents under external fields. Structural parameters such as major and minor radii govern bending energy, buckling thresholds and resonance frequencies, with smaller radii amplifying both elastic strain and quantum confinement effects. Magnetic responses arise from induced currents around the torus, from substitutional doping with transition metals and from curvature-driven modulation of electron spin density. Such properties render carbon nanotori promising candidates for nanoscale magnetic storage, spintronic devices and high-sensitivity magnetic sensors. Furthermore, the interplay between structural deformation and magnetic behaviour underpins potential applications in flexible nanoelectromechanical systems, where tunable magneto-mechanical coupling can be harnessed for actuation, energy harvesting or sensing at the molecular scale.

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Magnetic and Structural Properties of Carbon Nanotori publication trend

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Technical terms

Carbon nanotorus: A toroidal (ring-shaped) nanostructure formed by bending or connecting carbon nanotube segments, characterised by a major (ring) radius and a minor (tube) radius.

Magnetic moment: A vector quantity representing the strength and orientation of a system’s magnetic properties, arising from circulating currents or unpaired electron spins.

Continuum approximation: A modelling approach treating a discrete atomic lattice as a continuous elastic medium, enabling closed-form solutions for deformation and vibrational analyses.

Classical molecular dynamics: A computational method that simulates the time-dependent behaviour of atoms and molecules by integrating Newton’s equations of motion under specified force fields.

References

1. Deformation, Vibration, Buckling of Continuum Nanotorus. Journal of Nanomaterials (2010).
2. Numerical Analysis of the Influence of a Magnetic Field on the Group Dynamics of Iron-Doped Carbon Nanotori. Magnetochemistry (2024).
3. A Review of Geometry, Construction and Modelling for Carbon Nanotori. Applied Sciences (2019).