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High-entropy ceramics: Propelling applications through disorder

MRS Bulletin volume 47, pages 194–202 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Disorder enhances desired properties, as well as creating new avenues for synthesizing materials. For instance, hardness and yield stress are improved by solid-solution strengthening, a result of distortions and atomic-size mismatches. Thermochemical stability is increased by the preference of chemically disordered mixtures for high-symmetry superlattices. Vibrational thermal conductivity is decreased by force-constant disorder without sacrificing mechanical strength and stiffness. Thus, high-entropy ceramics propel a wide range of applications: from wear-resistant coatings and thermal and environmental barriers to catalysts, batteries, thermoelectrics, and nuclear energy management. Here, we discuss recent progress of the field, with a particular emphasis on disorder-enhanced properties and applications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank X. Campilongo, E. Zurek, W. Fahrenholtz, D. Wolfe, and D. Schlom for valuable discussions. Research sponsored by DOD-ONR (N00014-15-1-2863, N00014-21-1-2515) and NSF (DMR-1921909, DGE-2022040).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA

    Cormac Toher

  2. Center for Autonomous Materials Design, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Cormac Toher

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Center for Autonomous Materials Design, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Corey Oses, Marco Esters, David Hicks & Stefano Curtarolo

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA

    George N. Kotsonis & Jon-Paul Maria

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA

    Christina M. Rost

  6. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Donald W. Brenner

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  1. Cormac Toher
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Toher, C., Oses, C., Esters, M. et al. High-entropy ceramics: Propelling applications through disorder. MRS Bulletin 47, 194–202 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-022-00281-x

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