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High-entropy materials for energy and electronic applications

Nature Reviews Materials volume 9, pages 266–281 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

High-entropy materials (HEMs) hold promise for a variety of applications because their properties can be readily tailored by selecting specific elements and altering stoichiometry. In this Perspective, we highlight the emerging potential of HEMs in energy and electronic applications. We place particular emphasis on (ionic and covalent) ceramics that have only emerged in powder form since 2015. Although the discovery of opportunities is in its early stages, we discuss a few case studies in which the use of HEMs has led to improved material properties and device performance. We also correlate features with the respective properties and identify topics and effects for future investigations. An overview of these intrinsic properties, such as cocktail effects, lattice distortions and compositional freedom, as well as a list of general attributes, is given and linked to changes in material characteristics.

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Fig. 1: The transformation of binary materials (simple oxides) into a high-entropy material.
Fig. 2: Cocktail effects during the conversion reaction of the (CoCuMgNiZn)O anode.
Fig. 3: Different effects emerging from the high-entropy concept and how they affect energy storage and conversion applications.
Fig. 4: Different effects emerging from the high-entropy concept and how they affect electronic applications.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is acknowledged by H.H. (HA 1344/45-1), by H.H. and A.S. (HA 1344/43-2), and by L.V. (LV 1111/1-1). L.V., M.B. and H.H. are grateful for the support provided by the DFG (424789449 and SE 1407/4-2). S.S., M.B. and H.H. acknowledge the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project EPISTORE with grant agreement no. 101017709. F.S. acknowledges the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for funding within the project MELLi (03XP0447). B.B. thanks the Carl Zeiss Foundation for funding of the KeraSolar project. J.A.-H. acknowledges funding by the DFG under Germany’s Excellence Strategy via the Excellence Cluster “3D Matter Made to Order” (EXC-2082/1-390761711). The authors acknowledge the use of ChatGPT for language corrections.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Simon Schweidler, Miriam Botros.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany

    Simon Schweidler, Miriam Botros, Florian Strauss, Yanjiao Ma, Gabriel Cadilha Marques, Abhishek Sarkar, Christian Kübel, Horst Hahn, Jasmin Aghassi-Hagmann, Torsten Brezesinski & Ben Breitung

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany

    Qingsong Wang

  3. Bavarian Center for Battery Technology (BayBatt), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany

    Qingsong Wang

  4. Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede de La Paz, Cesar, Colombia

    Leonardo Velasco

  5. KIT-TUD Joint Laboratory Nanomaterials, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

    Abhishek Sarkar, Christian Kübel & Horst Hahn

  6. Helmholtz-Institute Ulm (HIU) for Electrochemical Energy Storage, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Ulm, Germany

    Christian Kübel

  7. Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMFi), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany

    Christian Kübel

  8. School of Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Horst Hahn

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All authors researched data for the article and wrote the article. T.B. and B.B. reviewed and edited the manuscript before submission.

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Schweidler, S., Botros, M., Strauss, F. et al. High-entropy materials for energy and electronic applications. Nat Rev Mater 9, 266–281 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00654-5

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