2D Young's Modulus of Black Phosphorene with Different Layers

Phosphorene is another layered elemental structure after graphene. The mechanical property is an important character for two-dimensional (2D) structures. The 2D Young's modulus (E-2D), representing the deformation resistance of 2D nanostructures, has been investigated for the black phosphorene (BP) nanoflakes with thicknesses of 6-22 nm (11-43 layers) by an atomic force microscope nanoindentation method. The nanoeffects have also been found to significantly affect the E-2D of BP nanoflakes. The BP E-2D increases as the layers decreasing. The E-2D-layer model for BP nanoflakes has been deduced to follow E-2D(n) = 53.31(1 + 3.30e(-0.13n)), where the E-2D of monolayer BP was deduced to be 214 +/- 11 N/m. The E-2D analysis model and E-2D-layer model have been well used to deduce the E-2D of BP nanoflakes.