  Controlled syntheses in nanoscale structures should be expected and
phosphorous nanotubes with predefined chiralities are important in electronic
devices with tunable bandgap. Here, incorporating molecular dynamics
simulations with theoretical analyses, we show that a zigzag phosphorene
nanoribbon can self-assemble and form a corresponding chiral phosphorous
nanotube surrounding a template armchair phosphorous nanotube. The van der
Waals potential between the nanoribbon and the nanotube is transformed to the
intrinsic deformed and chemical bonding energies of the synthesized tube
together with partial kinetic energy. The self-assembly process has an apparent
temperature dependence and size effect and the formed chiral tube is
thermodynamically stable. Also, the chirality and measurement can be tuned by
the radius of template tube and the aspect ratio of raw ribbon. The study
suggests a novel and feasible approach for controlled synthesis of phosphorous
nanotubes and thus is of great interest for semiconductor device applications.
