Lattice distortion enabling enhanced strength and plasticity in high entropy intermetallic alloy

H Wang and PY Yang and WJ Zhao and SH Ma and JH Hou and QF He and CL Wu and HA Chen and Q Wang and Q Cheng and BS Guo and JC Qiao and WJ Lu and SJ Zhao and XD Xu and CT Liu and Y Liu and CW Pao and Y Yang, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 15, 6782 (2024).

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51204-0

Intermetallic alloys have traditionally been characterized by their inherent brittleness due to their lack of sufficient slip systems and absence of strain hardening. However, here we developed a single-phase B2 high-entropy intermetallic alloy that is both strong and plastic. Unlike conventional intermetallics, this high-entropy alloy features a highly distorted crystalline lattice with complex chemical order, leading to multiple slip systems and high flow stress. In addition, the alloy exhibits a dynamic hardening mechanism triggered by dislocation gliding that preserves its strength across a wide range of temperatures. As a result, this high-entropy intermetallic circumvents precipitous thermal softening, with extensive plastic flows even at high homologous temperatures, outperforming a variety of both body-centered cubic and B2 alloys. These findings reveal a promising direction for the development of intermetallic alloys with broad engineering applications. Intermetallics are traditionally characterised by their inherent brittleness due to a lack of sufficient slip systems and the absence of strain hardening. Here authors show that a single-phase distorted high entropy B2 intermetallic alloy displays notable strength and plasticity at room temperature, along with stable plastic flow at high homologous temperatures.

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