In situ reaction synthesis of high-entropy carbide/diboride composite with highmechanical properties.

A novel technique to simultaneously lower the synthesis temperature of highentropy carbides and maintain their high mechanical properties was proposed. Certain amount of carbon vacancies was first introduced to significantly lower the temperature down to 2000°C for uniform elemental distributions in highentropy carbides. Those carbon vacancies were then fully eliminated through the reaction between high-entropy carbides and certain amount of boron carbide. Concomitantly, the high-entropy boride phasewas formed. The elimination of carbon vacancies and the formation of high-entropy boride phase significantly improved the mechanical properties of the high-entropy carbides. A high mechanical strength over 500 MPa can be obtained by phase optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]