Regulation of short-range order and its influence on the multiscale mechanical behaviors in high entropy alloys

含有多种主金属元素的高熵合金拓展了合金的成分空间。我们表明，通过用类金属取代组成金属，可以进一步扩大可能性的范围，类金属对于定制强度/延展性是理想的，因为它们具有与宿主金属元素明显不同的化学相互作用和原子尺寸。通过调节预应变诱导的晶体缺陷可以进一步优化材料的力学性能。这种策略使这些单相合金具有高拉伸强度和非凡延展性的不寻常协同作用，这为高性能金属材料的开发提供了启示。

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) containing multiple principal metallic elements have extended the compositional space of alloys. We show that the realm of possibilities can be further expanded through substituting the constituent metals with metalloids, which are desirable for tailoring strength/ductility because they have chemical interactions and atomic sizes distinctly different from the host metallic elements. The mechanical properties can be further optimized by tuning the pre-strain-induced crystal defects. This strategy enables an unusual synergy of high tensile strength and extraordinary ductility for these single-phase alloys, which sheds lights on the development of high-performance metallic materials.