Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Nature Communications
Publication Date
Volume
8
Abstract
High pressure x-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the face-centered cubic (fcc) high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi transforms martensitically to a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase at ~14 GPa. This is attributed to suppression of the local magnetic moments, destabilizing the fcc phase. Similar to fcc-to-hcp transformations in Al and the noble gases, this transformation is sluggish, occurring over a range of >40 GPa. However, the behavior of CrMnFeCoNi is unique in that the hcp phase is retained following decompression to ambient pressure, yielding metastable fcc-hcp mixtures.