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Auxetic Black Phosphorus: A 2D Material with Negative Poisson's Ratio

The Poisson's ratio of a material characterizes its response to uniaxial strain. Materials normally possess a positive Poisson's ratio - they contract laterally when stretched, and expand laterally when compressed. A negative Poisson's ratio is theoretically permissible but has not, with few exceptions of man-made bulk structures, been experimentally observed in any natural materials. Here, we show that the negative Poisson's ratio exists in the low-dimensional natural material black phosphorus, and that our experimental observations are consistent with first principles simulations. Through application of uniaxial strain along zigzag and armchair directions, we find that both interlayer and intralayer negative Poisson's ratios can be obtained in black phosphorus. The phenomenon originates from the puckered structure of its in-plane lattice, together with coupled hinge-like bonding configurations.