Investigating the Surface Reactivity of Black Phosphorus

Abstract

Black phosphorus (bP) a layered 2D allotrope of elemental phosphorus, is a promising material for electronic and catalytic applications, due to its direct, tunable bandgap, high carrier mobility, and relatively reactive basal plane. Although bP was discovered in 1914, knowledge about the surface reactivity remains limited. This work aims to explore different facets of bP reactivity. Chapter 1 provides insight into bP and its unique electronic and chemical properties. Chapter 2 focuses on the use of bP as a building block in van der Waals heterostructures. The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was used to investigate a series of synthesized metal cluster–bP heterostructures. Chapter 3 investigates the possibility of bP as a Lewis base accessing frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) chemistry when paired with a sterically hindered Lewis acid through the activation of small molecules such as H2 and phenylacetylene (PhCCH).