Abstract
The quantization of the rotational motion of a diatomic molecule in a carbon nanostructure was addressed. The rotational eigenvalues were calculated as a function of the size of the structure. The resulting eigenvalues were employed to calculate partition functions. Evidence was obtained that in addition to the consideration translational confinement of a molecule in a nanotube, there are significant quantum effects that arise from the restriction of the rotational motion. The addition of the zero-point energy obtained from a crude potential, significantly enhanced the isotopic separator factor over that for a model that includes only the confinement of the translational motion.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 022903 |
| Pages (from-to) | 022903/1-022903/7 |
| Journal | Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - Aug 2001 |