Scientific Achievement
- Researchers in the In Situ TEM program achieved a novel synthesis of HEAs through an isothermal solidification strategy
- In-situ liquid-phase TEM, integrated with theoretical calculations, enabled a breakthrough in guiding synthesis design and elucidating the underlying mechanisms
Significance and Impact
- Isothermal solidification offers a powerful, unexplored nonequilibrium pathway for HEA synthesis by kinetically trapping high-entropy states, with broad implications for advanced material design
Research Details
- Gallium (Ga)-based metal acts as both sacrificial reagent and mixing medium, where interfacial reactions with metal ions enable rapid reduction and incorporation
- Liquid-phase TEM revealed HEA mixing, nucleation, and growth
Publication Details
Q. Zhang, M. C. Gallant, Y. Chen, Z. Song, Y. Liu, Q. Zheng, L. Chen, K. C. Bustillo, Y. Huang, K. A. Persson, H. Zheng, Nature (2025).
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09530-w
Work was performed at the Molecular Foundry.
