Growth Mechanism and Location Control of Black Phosphorus in Mineralizer-Assisted Synthesis
Since the first mechanical exfoliation of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional materials have been extensively studied due to their distinctive electrical and optical properties combined with atomic-scale thickness. Black phosphorus has emerged as a promising two-dimensional material because of its thickness-dependent bandgap, relatively high carrier mobility, and intrinsic in-plane anisotropy. It was first synthesized in 1914 using high-pressure techniques involving several gigapascals. A mineralizer-assisted synthesis method was introduced in 2007, enabling growth under ambient pressure without the use of highly toxic reagents. Despite these advances, black phosphorus obtained by conventional methods is typically in bulk form and the growth mechanism in the ampoule remains unclear. In this study, the growth location and behavior of black phosphorus are investigated using a quartz ampoule-based mineralizer-assisted synthesis method. The growth location and morphology of black phosphorus are dependent on the experimental configuration, particularly the presence of mineralizer-related compounds and metal-coated substrates. We demonstrate that Sn-P-I compounds and metal-induced reactions can effectively control the growth location, and provide insights toward thin-film black phosphorus synthesis.