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Studying the reason why single-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) appears to fall short of its promising potential in flexible nanoelectronics, we find that the nature of contacts plays a more important role than the semiconductor itself. In order to understand the nature of MoS2/metal contacts, we perform ab initio density functional theory calculations for the geometry, bonding, and electronic structure of the contact region. We find that the most common contact metal (Au) is rather inefficient for electron injection into single-layer MoS2 and propose Ti as a representative example of suitable alternative electrode materials.

We combine ab initio density functional and quantum transport calculations based on the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism to compare structural, electronic, and transport properties of Mo6S6-xIx nanowires with carbon nanotubes. We find systems with x=2 to be particularly stable and rigid, with their electronic structure and conductance close to that of metallic (13,13) single-wall carbon nanotubes. Mo6S6-xIx nanowires are conductive irrespective of their structure, more easily separable than carbon nanotubes, and capable of forming ideal contacts to Au leads through thio groups.