Phosphorus Nanostripe Arrays on Cu(110): A Case Study to Understand the Substrate Effect on the Phosphorus thin Film Growth

Black phosphorus has attracted significant attention as a new emerging 2D material in recent years. Due to its novel and unique properties, new 2D phosphorus nanostructures have also been predicted by theoretical calculations. However, experimental realization of new phosphorus structures has been rarely reported and remains one major challenge. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate phosphorus growth behaviors on different substrates to unravel the growth mechanism and provides useful guidelines for the selection of suitable substrates to synthesis the desired structure. This study reports a molecular-beam-epitaxial growth of phosphorus on Cu(110) by using bulk black phosphorous crystals as precursor, through the combination of in situ low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Atomically resolved STM image and the corresponding DFT simulations reveal the formation of phosphorus monomers and dimmers locating in the valley of the Cu(110) surface. XPS and Bader charge analysis confirm a significant electron transfer from the Cu(110) substrate to P atoms on top.