Thermal stability of a free nanotube from single-layer black phosphorus

Abstract

Similar to the carbon nanotube fabricated from graphene sheet, a black phosphorus nanotube (BPNT) also can theoretically be produced by curling the rectangular single-layer black phosphorus (SLBP). In present study, the effect of thermal vibration of atoms on the failure of a BPNT is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Two types of double-shell BPNTs, which are obtained by curling the rectangular SLBP along its armchair/pucker direction and zigzag direction (in-plane normal) respectively, are involved in simulation. At finite temperature, a bond on the outer shell of tube is under tension due to both of curvature of tube and serious thermal vibration of atoms. As the length of a bond with such elongation approaches its critical value, i.e., 0.279 nm, or the smallest distance between two nonbonding phosphorus atoms is over 0.389nm caused by great variation of bond angle, the tube fails quickly. The critical stable states of either an armchair or a zigzag BPNT at finite temperature are calculated and compared. To achieve a stable BPNT with high robustness, the curvature of the tube should be reduced or the tube should work at a lower temperature. Only when the BPNT has structural stability, it has a potential application as a nanowire in a future nano electro-mechanical system (NEMS).