Uniformly Wetting Deposition of Co Atoms on MoS2 Monolayer: A Promising Two-Dimensional Robust Half-Metallic Ferromagnet

Synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) metal chalcogenide based half-metallic nanosheets is in high demand for modern electronics and spintronics applications. Herein, we predict from first-principles calculations that the 2D heterostructure Co/MoS2, consisting of a monolayer of Co atoms deposited on a single MoS2 sheet, possesses robust ferromagnetic and half-metallic features and exhibits 100% spin-filter efficiency within a broad bias range. Its ferromagnetic and half-metallic nature persists even when overlaid with a graphene sheet. Because of the relatively strong surface binding energy and low clustering ratio of Co atoms on the MoS2 surface, we predict that the heterostructure is synthesizable via wetting deposition of Co on MoS2 by electron-beam evaporation technique. Our work strongly suggests Co/MoS2 as a compelling and feasible candidate for highly effective information and high-density memory devices.