Self-assembly of a parallelogram black phosphorus ribbon into a nanotube

A nanotube from single-layer black phosphorus (BP) has never been discovered in experiments. The present study proposed a method for the fabrication of a BP nanotube (BPNT) from a parallelogram nanoribbon self-assembled on a carbon nanotube (CNT). The nanoribbon has a pair of opposite sides along the third principal direction. According to the numerical simulation via molecular dynamics approach, we discover that a wider BP nanoribbon can form into a series of chiral nanotube by self-assembly upon CNTs with different radii. The radius of a BPNT from the same ribbon has a wide range, and depends on both geometry of the ribbon and the CNT. One can obtain a BPNT with the specified radius by placing the ribbon nearby a given CNT. The method provides a clue for potential fabrication of BPNTs.