Superconductivity in high-entropy alloy system containing Th

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid State Physics
• Superconductivity

Background:

• High entropy alloys (HEAs) offer unique properties due to their complex compositions.
• Thorium (Th)-containing alloys are relatively unexplored but hold potential for novel applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel Th-containing superconducting high entropy system.
• To investigate the structural and physical properties of the (NbTa)2(MoWTh) alloy.
• To computationally support experimental findings using density functional theory.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of the (NbTa)2(MoWTh) high entropy alloy.
• Experimental characterization using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.
• Physical property measurements including specific heat, resistivity, and magnetic susceptibility.
• Numerical simulations using the DFT Korringa-Kohn-Roper method with coherent potential approximation (KKR-CPA).

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of the Th-containing high entropy alloy.
• Identification of two primary phases: a major body-centered cubic (bcc) structure and a minor face-centered cubic (fcc) structure.
• Experimental data on structural and physical properties were obtained.
• Numerical simulations using KKR-CPA corroborated the experimental observations.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized (NbTa)2(MoWTh) system exhibits a dual-phase structure (bcc and fcc).
• The study provides a foundational understanding of Th-containing superconducting high entropy alloys.
• Combined experimental and computational approaches are effective for characterizing complex alloy systems.