Access and in situ growth of phosphorene-precursor black phosphorus

• Large black phosphorus crystals were grown by a short way transport reaction.
• In situ neutron diffraction affirms the formation of black P directly from gas phase.
• Large crystals can be used as starting material for phosphorene synthesis.

Single crystals of orthorhombic black phosphorus can be grown by a short way transport reaction from red phosphorus and Sn/SnI4 as mineralization additive. Sizes of several millimeters can be realized with high crystal quality and purity, making a large area preparation of single or multilayer phosphorene possible. An in situ neutron diffraction study was performed addressing the formation of black phosphorus. Black phosphorus is formed directly via gas phase without the occurrence of any other intermediate phase. Crystal growth was initiated after cooling the starting materials down from elevated temperatures at 500 °C.