In-situ formed heterogeneous grain structure in spark-plasma-sintered CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy overcomes the strength-ductility trade-off

The conflict between strength and ductility has been a longstanding dilemma for metallic alloys. Herein, we present a facile strategy to overcome the strength-ductility trade-off of face-center-cubic high-entropy alloys (HEAs) via the in-situ formation of heterogeneous grain structure, using the high local temperature gradients generated during spark plasma sintering coupled with the ‘sluggish diffusion’ of HEAs. The fabricated CoCrFeMnNi HEA has a heterogeneous structure over a large range of grain size from 140 nm to 5 μm, which enables a gigapascal yield strength and a uniform elongation of 9.5%. The mechanism responsible for the associated mechanical properties was analyzed.