International Journal of Physics | Vol. 17, No. 8, August 2026 | pp. 89–96
DOI: 10.46882/2026/IJP/000200
Research Article
Title: Phonon Dispersion and Thermal Conductivity of Monolayer Black Phosphorus Under Axial Tensile Strain
Names of Authors: Y. W. Zhang¹, K. N. Singh²
Authors’ Affiliations:
¹ Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
Abstract: Controlling heat transport at the nanoscale is essential for managing thermal dissipation in next-generation nanoelectronic devices. This study investigates the phonon dispersion relations and lattice thermal conductivity of black phosphorus nanoribbons subjected to uniaxial tensile strain. We performed comprehensive molecular dynamics simulations using an optimized empirical potential combined with the Green-Kubo formal mathematical framework. Calculations were conducted at an equilibrium temperature of 300.0 K under mechanical tensile strains varying from 0.0% to 12.0%. Our structural models revealed that the lattice thermal conductivity of an unstrained ribbon (width = 2.5 nm) is approximately 1420.0 W/m-K along the zigzag direction. Applying a 10.0% tensile strain caused a sharp 58.0% reduction in thermal conductivity for armchair configurations, whereas zigzag configurations exhibited a less severe 42.0% decrease. Analysis of the phonon dispersion curves showed that uniaxial strain significantly softens the acoustic phonon modes, particularly the flexural out-of-plane (ZA) and transverse acoustic (TA) branches. Specifically, the frequency of the ZA mode at the Brillouin zone boundary decreased by 24.5% under 8.0% strain. This mode softening reduces the phonon group velocities and increases the Umklapp scattering rates due to enhanced lattice anharmonicity. The calculated phonon lifetime dropped from 4.2 ps to 1.8 ps at room temperature under maximum strain conditions. These results demonstrate that mechanical strain engineering provides an effective method for tuning thermal properties in phosphorene-based nanoelectronics and thermoelectric systems.
Keywords: Phosphorene nanoribbons; Thermal conductivity; Phonon dispersion; Molecular dynamics; Tensile strain; Umklapp scattering
Manuscript Timeline: Received: April 25, 2026 / Revised: June 03, 2026 / Accepted: June 25, 2026 / Published: August 14, 2026
Citation: Zhang, Y. W., & Singh, K. N. (2026). Phonon Dispersion and Thermal Conductivity of Monolayer Black Phosphorus Under Axial Tensile Strain. International Journal of Physics, 17(8), 89–96.
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