Design and Development of High-Entropy Alloys with a Tailored Composition and Phase Structure Based on Thermodynamic Parameters and Film Thickness Using a Novel Combinatorial Target

Khurshed Alam; Woohyung Jang; Geonwoo Jeong; Chul-Kyu Park; Kwangmin Lee; Hoonsung Cho

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c02222

Design and Development of High-Entropy Alloys with a Tailored Composition and Phase Structure Based on Thermodynamic Parameters and Film Thickness Using a Novel Combinatorial Target

ACS Omega. 2023 Jul 26;8(31):28333-28343. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c02222. eCollection 2023 Aug 8.

Authors

Khurshed Alam^{1

2}, Woohyung Jang³, Geonwoo Jeong¹, Chul-Kyu Park⁴, Kwangmin Lee¹, Hoonsung Cho¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science & Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea.
² Powder Materials Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science, 51508 Changwon, South Korea.
³ Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Gachon Pain Center and Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

This study presents a novel synthesis route for high-entropy alloys (HEAs) and high-entropy metallic glass (HEMG) using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering and controlling the HEA phase selection according to atomic size difference (δ) and film thickness. The preparation of HEAs using sputtering requires either multitargets or the preparation of a target containing at least five distinct elements. In developing HEA-preparation techniques, the emergence of a novel sputtering target system is promising to prepare a wide range of HEAs. A new HEA-preparation technique is developed to avoid multitargets and configure the target elements with the required components in a single target system. Because of a customizable target facility, initially, a TiZrNbMoTaCr target emerged with an amorphous phase owing to a high δ value of 7.6, which was followed by a solid solution (SS) by lowering the δ value to 5 (≤6.6). Thus, this system was tested for the first time to prepare TiZrNbMoTa HEA and TiZrNbMoTa HEMG via RF magnetron sputtering. Both films were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy cross-sectional thickness, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, HEMG showed higher hardness 10.3 (±0.17) GPa, modulus 186 (±7) GPa, elastic deformation (0.055) and plastic deformation (0.032 GPa), smooth surface, lower corrosion current density (I_corr), and robust cell viability compared to CP-Ti and HEA. XRD analysis of the film showed SS with a body-centered cubic (BCC) structure with (110) as the preferred orientation. The valence electron concentration [VEC = 4.8 (<6.87)] also confirmed the BCC structure. Furthermore, the morphology of the thin film was analyzed through AFM, revealing a smooth surface for HEMG. Inclusively, the concept of configurational entropy (ΔS_mix) is applied and the crystalline phase is achieved at room temperature, optimizing the processing by avoiding further furnace usage.