Band renormalization of blue phosphorus on Au(111)

TL;DR

This study reports the growth and detailed structural and electronic characterization of blue phosphorus on Au(111), revealing substrate-induced band renormalization and symmetry breaking effects that alter its electronic properties.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental realization and comprehensive analysis of blue phosphorus on Au(111), including its structural, electronic, and band renormalization characteristics.

Findings

Au(111) induces sublattice symmetry breaking in blue phosphorus

Formation of a (4x4) superstructure causes orbital-dependent band renormalization

Valence band maximum is at 0.9 eV binding energy, shifted in momentum space

Abstract

Most recently, theoretical calculations predicted the stability of a novel two-dimensional phosphorus honeycomb lattice named blue phosphorus. Here, we report on the growth of blue phosphorus on Au(111) and unravel its structural details using diffraction, microscopy and theoretical calculations. Most importantly, by utilizing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we identify its momentum-resolved electronic structure. We find that Au(111) breaks the sublattice symmetry of blue phosphorus leading to an orbital-dependent band renormalization upon the formation of a (4x4) superstructure. Notably, the semiconducting two-dimensional phosphorus realizes its valence band maximum at 0.9 eV binding energy, however, shifted in momentum space due to the substrate-induced band renormalization.