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Direction dependent thermal conductivity of monolayer phosphorene: parameterization of Stillinger-Weber potential and molecular dynamics study

A Stillinger-Weber interatomic potential is parameterized for phosphorene. It well reproduces the crystal structure, cohesive energy and phonon dispersion predicted by first-principles calculations. The thermal conductivity of phosphorene is further explored by equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations adopting the optimal set of potential parameters. At room temperature, the intrinsic thermal conductivities along zigzag and armchair directions are about 152.7 and 33.0 W/mK, respectively, with a large anisotropy ratio of five. The remarkably directional dependence of thermal conductivity in phosphorene, consistent with previous reports, is mainly due to the strong anisotropy of phonon group velocities, and weak anisotropy of phonon lifetimes as revealed by lattice dynamics calculations. Moreover, the effective phonon mean free paths at zigzag and armchair directions are about 141.4 and 43.4nm, respectively.