Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising low-dimensional materials which can produce diverse electronic properties and band alignment in van der Waals heterostructures. Systematic density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed for 24 different TMD monolayers and their bilayer heterostacks. DFT calculations show that monolayer TMDs can behave as semiconducting, metallic or semimetallic depending on their structures; we also calculated the band alignment of the TMDs to predict their alignment in van der Waals heterostacks. We have applied the charge equilibration model (CEM) to obtain a quantitative formula predicting the highest occupied state of any type of bilayer TMD heterostacks (552 pairs for 24 TMDs). The CEM predicted values agree quite well with the selected DFT simulation results. The quantitative prediction of the band alignment in the TMD heterostructures can provide an insightful guidance to the development of TMD-based devices.

Atomic substitution and doping are two of the most adopted strategies to improve the electrochemical performance of layered cathode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, we report a comprehensive study on the effects of seven dopants (Al, Ga, Mg, Si, Ti, V, and Zr) on the well-known drawbacks of Ni-rich LiNi_1−2yCo_yMn_yO₂ (NCM) (y ≤ 0.1), one of the most promising next-generation cathode materials for LIBs, including phase instability, Li–Ni exchange, Ni segregation, lattice distortion, and oxygen evolution. Our results show that there is not a single dopant that can solve all the problems at the same time and, moreover, while they often improve certain properties, they may have no effect or even worsen others. By comparing different doping sites, we found a strong site preference due to the tradeoff between Mn and Co concentrations. This site preference indicates that a multicomponent-doping strategy should be adopted at both Mn and Co sites. Finally, a rationale for the optimization of the overall electrochemical performance of Ni-rich NCM is proposed, which will ultimately provide practical guidance (Ti or Zr at the Co site and Al at the Mn site) for the design of new Ni-rich layered cathode materials for LIBs.