Crystal nucleation and growth in high-entropy alloys revealed by atomic electron tomography

Crystal nucleation and growth in high-entropy alloys revealed by atomic electron tomography | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Crystal nucleation and growth in high-entropy alloys revealed by atomic electron tomography Jianwei (John) Miao, Yakun Yuan, Saman Moniri, Yao Yang, Jihan Zhou, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6142193/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract High-entropy alloys (HEAs) balance mixing entropy and intermetallic phase formation enthalpy, creating a vast compositional space for structural and functional materials 1-6 . They exhibit exceptional strength-ductility trade-offs in metallurgy 4-10 and near-continuum adsorbate binding energies in catalysis 11-16 . A deep understanding of crystal nucleation and growth in HEAs is essential for controlling their formation and optimizing their structural and functional properties. However, atomic-scale nucleation in HEAs challenges traditional theories based on one or two principal elements 17-23 . The intricate interplay of structural and chemical orders among multiple principal elements further obscures our understanding of nucleation pathways 5,24-27 . Due to the lack of direct three-dimensional (3D) atomic-scale observations, previous studies have relied on simulations and indirect measurements 28-32 , leaving HEA nucleation and growth fundamentally elusive. Here, we advance atomic electron tomography 33,34 to resolve the 3D atomic structure and chemical composition of 7,662 HEA and 498 medium-entropy alloy nuclei at different nucleation stages. We observe local structural order that decreases from core to boundary, correlating with local chemical order. As nuclei grow, structural order improves. At later stages, most nuclei coalesce without misorientation, while some form coherent twin boundaries. To explain these experimental observations, we propose the gradient nucleation pathways model, in which the nucleation energy barrier progressively increases through multiple evolving intermediate states. We expect these findings to not only provide fundamental insights into crystal nucleation and growth in HEAs, but also offer a general framework for understanding nucleation mechanisms in other materials. Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Metals and alloys Physical sciences/Materials science/Condensed-matter physics/Phase transitions and critical phenomena Physical sciences/Materials science/Nanoscale materials/Structural properties Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files MiaoExtData.docx Extended Data file Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6142193","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":433659756,"identity":"4c971d38-ed59-4b11-bb96-b68b02dec378","order_by":0,"name":"Jianwei (John) 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They exhibit exceptional strength-ductility trade-offs in metallurgy\u003csup\u003e4-10\u003c/sup\u003e and near-continuum adsorbate binding energies in catalysis\u003csup\u003e11-16\u003c/sup\u003e. A deep understanding of crystal nucleation and growth in HEAs is essential for controlling their formation and optimizing their structural and functional properties. However, atomic-scale nucleation in HEAs challenges traditional theories based on one or two principal elements\u003csup\u003e17-23\u003c/sup\u003e. The intricate interplay of structural and chemical orders among multiple principal elements further obscures our understanding of nucleation pathways\u003csup\u003e5,24-27\u003c/sup\u003e. Due to the lack of direct three-dimensional (3D) atomic-scale observations, previous studies have relied on simulations and indirect measurements\u003csup\u003e28-32\u003c/sup\u003e, leaving HEA nucleation and growth fundamentally elusive. 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