Two-dimensional arsenic monolayer sheet predicted from first-principles

Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the two-dimensional arsenic nanosheet isolated from bulk gray arsenic. Its dynamical stability is confirmed by phonon calculations and molecular dynamics analyzing. The arsenic sheet is an indirect band gap semiconductor with a band gap of 2.21 eV in the hybrid HSE06 functional calculations. The valence band maximum (VBM) and the conduction band minimum (CBM) are mainly occupied by the 4p orbitals of arsenic atoms, which is consistent with the partial charge densities of VBM and CBM. The charge density of the VBM G point has the character of a pi bond, which originates from p orbitals. Furthermore, tensile and compressive strains are applied in the armchair and zigzag directions, related to the tensile deformations of zigzag and armchair nanotubes, respectively. We find that the ultimate strain in zigzag deformation is 0.13, smaller than 0.18 of armchair deformation. The limit compressive stresses of single-layer arsenic along armchair and zigzag directions are -4.83 GPa and -4.76 GPa with corresponding strains of -0.15 and -0.14, respectively.