  Phosphorus atomic chains, the utmost-narrow nanostructures of black
phosphorus (BP), are highly relevant to the in-depth development of BP into
one-dimensional (1D) regime. In this contribution, we report a top-down route
to prepare atomic chains of BP via electron beam sculpting inside a
transmission electron microscope (TEM). The growth and dynamics (i.e. rupture
and edge migration) of 1D phosphorus chains are experimentally captured for the
first time. Furthermore, the dynamic behaviors and associated energetics of the
as-formed phosphorus chains are further corroborated by density functional
theory (DFT) calculations. The 1D counterpart of BP will serve as a novel
platform and inspire further exploration of the versatile properties of BP.
