Non-Equilibrium Synthesis Methods to Create Metastable and High-Entropy Nanomaterials

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Stabilizing multiple elements in a single phase creates advanced materials with unique properties.
• Hume-Rothery rules limit solid-state miscibility under equilibrium conditions, restricting material composition.
• This limitation narrows the scope for discovering new inorganic materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review how non-equilibrium synthesis methods overcome thermodynamic barriers.
• To highlight the integration of immiscible elements into metastable and high-entropy nanostructures.
• To discuss the potential of these materials in catalysis, energy storage, thermoelectrics, and sensing.

Main Methods:

• Ultrafast heating and quenching techniques are employed.
• Non-equilibrium synthesis enables kinetic trapping and stabilization via high configurational entropy.
• These methods generate unconventional compositions and nanostructures.

Main Results:

• Metastable and high-entropy nanostructures are formed from immiscible elements.
• Enhanced phase stability is achieved through kinetic trapping and entropy stabilization.
• Unique structural and functional properties arise from these complex compositions.

Conclusions:

• Non-equilibrium synthesis dramatically expands the accessible material design space.
• These methods offer rich datasets for AI-guided materials discovery.
• The high-throughput and scalable nature of these approaches accelerate materials development and industrial production.