Low‐temperature synthesis of high‐entropy (Hf _0.2 Ti _0.2 Mo _0.2 Ta _0.2 Nb _0.2 )B ₂ powders combined with theoretical forecast of its elastic and thermal properties

A theoretical calculation combined with experiment was used to study high-entropy (Hf0.2Ti0.2Mo0.2Ta0.2Nb0.2)B2 (HEB-HfTiMoTaNb). The theoretical calculation suggested HEB-HfTiMoTaNb could be stable over a wide temperature range. Then, a novel solvothermal/molten salt assisted borothermal reduction method was proposed to efficiently pre-disperse transitional metal atoms in a precursor and synthesize (Hf0.2Ti0.2Mo0.2Ta0.2Nb0.2)B2 nanoscale powders at 1573 K for 6 h, which is nearly 300 K lower than previous reports. The characterization results indicated that the as-synthesized nanoscale HEB-HfTiMoTaNb powders was hexagonal single-phase with homogeneous elements distribution and uniform size, and the oxygen content of the particles is 0.97 wt. Simultaneously, the mechanical properties, anisotropic nature, and thermal properties of HEB-HfTiMoTaNb were investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The Cannikin's law was adopted to explain the improvement of comprehensive mechanical properties. In addition, a significant reduction of thermal conductivity was observed for HEB-HfTiMoTaNb and it only was 1/15 of the value of HfB2. This work suggests a reliable technique for synthesis of nanosized HEBs powders and discovery of high-entropy materials under the guidance of first-principle theory. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved