To investigate the early stages of Cu nucleation on these TMD monolayers, Cu n (n = 1 -4) nanoclusters are adsorbed onto the TMD monolayers on different sites and in different morphologies. Binding energies for each structure are calculated using equation 1 and shown in tables 1 and 2. Metal-substrate interaction energies are calculated using equation 3 and shown in table . Furthermore, metal-metal interactions energies are calculated using equation 2 and shown in table .