Melting Curve of Black Phosphorus: Evidence for a Solid-Liquid-Liquid Triple Point

Black phosphorus (bP) is a crystalline material that can be seen as an ordered stacking of two-dimensional layers, which results in outstanding anisotropic physical properties. The knowledge of its pressure (P)-temperature (T) phase diagram, and in particular, of its melting curve is fundamental for a better understanding of the synthesis and stability conditions of this element. Despite the numerous studies devoted to this subject, significant uncertainties remain regarding the determination of the position and slope of its melting curve. Here we measured the melting curve of bP in an extended P, T region from 0.10(3) to 5.05(40) GPa and from 914(25) to 1788(70) K, using in situ high-pressure and high-temperature synchrotron X-ray diffraction. We employed an original metrology based on the anisotropic thermoelastic properties of bP to accurately determine P and T. We observed a monotonic increase of the melting temperature with pressure and the existence of two distinct linear regimes below and above 1.35(15) GPa, with respective slopes of 348 ± 21 and of 105 ± 12 K·GPa^-1. These correspond to the melting of bP toward the low-density liquid and the high-density liquid, respectively. The triple point at which solid bP and the two liquids meet is located at 1.35(15) GPa and 1350(25) K. In addition, we have characterized the solid phases after crystallization of the two liquids and found that, while the high-density liquid transforms back to solid bP, the low-density liquid crystallizes into a more complex, partly crystalline and partly amorphous solid. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the crystalline component could be indexed as a mixture of red and violet P.