An Ohmic contact is critical for achieving 2D material-based high performance electronic devices. Unfortunately, the formation of an intrinsic Ohmic contact for 2D materials is difficult; thus, current studies mostly stay in the Schottky regime. In this work, density functional calculations are performed for work function engineering for metal–semiconductor junctions involving 2D H-WSe₂ and 2D metals of MX₂ (M = Ti, V, Nb, Ta, Mo, and W and X = S and Se). We unambiguously identify a Schottky-to-Ohmic contact transition boundary, beyond which p-type Ohmic contacts are demonstrated to be stable. We show that the Fermi level pinning effect is relatively weak in the Schottky region, while similar pinning-like behavior is strong in the Ohmic region, creating a discontinuity near the contact transition boundary. The observed deviation from the ideal Schottky–Mott limit is directly related to the charge redistribution and interface dipole-induced potential step, reflected by metal work function modification due to contact formation. Our work not only provides a strategy to identify effective Ohmic contacts but also offers insights for prospection into the fundamental electronic properties of van der Waals-based heterojunctions.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that survive in the blood are playing an important role in the metastasis process of tumor. In addition, they have become a tool for tumor diagnosis, prognosis and recurrence monitoring. CTCs can exist in the blood as individual cells or as clumps of aggregated cells. In recent years, more and more studies have shown that clustered CTCs have stronger metastasis ability compared to single CTCs. With the deepening of studies, scholars have found that cancer cells can combine not only with each other, but also with non-tumor cells present in the blood, such as neutrophils, platelets, etc. At the same time, it was confirmed that non-tumor cells bound to CTCs maintain the survival and proliferation of cancer cells through a variety of ways, thus promoting the occurrence and development of tumor. In this review, we collected information on tumorigenesis induced by CTC clusters to make a summary and a discussion about them. Although CTC clusters have recently been considered as a key role in the transition process, many characteristics of them remain to be deeply explored. A detailed understanding of their vulnerability can prospectively pave the way for new inhibitors for metastasis.