Solute-Driven Defect Engineering in a Tungsten‑Based High‑Entropy Alloy for Extreme Radiation Tolerance

Solute-Driven Defect Engineering in a Tungsten‑Based High‑Entropy Alloy for Extreme Radiation Tolerance | 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 Research Article Solute-Driven Defect Engineering in a Tungsten‑Based High‑Entropy Alloy for Extreme Radiation Tolerance jianlong Chai, Dahuan Zhu, Junling Chen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8952179/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Fusion energy demands materials that withstand extreme helium irradiation, a challenge that conventional tungsten fails to meet due to bubble embrittlement and hardening. Here we report a WTaVCr high-entropy alloy (HEA) in which chemical disorder fundamentally alters helium‑defect dynamics. Through ion irradiation, atomic‑scale microscopy, and atomistic simulations, we uncover a unique solute‑defect interplay that suppresses degradation. Unlike pure tungsten, the HEA retains nanometer‑scale helium bubbles (∼1 nm) without coarsening as the He fluence increases. Dislocation loops in the alloy showing an increasing fraction of ‑type loops accompanied by Cr enrichment and Ta depletion at loop interfaces. Atomic-scale analysis and simulations unveil a thermodynamically driven segregation process where Cr enriches at dislocation loops while Ta is excluded, a direct result of atomic size mismatch and strain minimization. Nanoindentation reveals quantifiable hardening governed by loop density and character. These results demonstrate that configurational entropy alone is insufficient; deliberate solute‑dislocation interactions are critical for defect control. By linking chemical heterogeneity to microstructural evolution, this work provides a design principle for alloys that maintain mechanical integrity in high‑radiation environments, paving the way for durable fusion materials. Materials Engineering W-based HEAs Helium bubble suppression Defect‑solute interaction Dislocation loop tailoring Chemical disorder Atomistic simulation Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files GraphicalAbstract.pdf Solute-Driven Defect Engineering in a Tungsten‑Based High‑Entropy Alloy for Extreme Radiation Tolerance Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted 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. 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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-8952179","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":596581912,"identity":"ad097ea9-c826-479b-8a1b-2326cfbff9f8","order_by":0,"name":"jianlong Chai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"jianlong","middleName":"","lastName":"Chai","suffix":""},{"id":596581913,"identity":"93617177-64b6-4487-aa10-d10bfd3f3894","order_by":1,"name":"Dahuan Zhu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvbG9h8fKv7J8TMzHyBOCx/P4QOSM84cMJZsb0sgToucRFqCNGfbgUSDM2cMiHQYQ46BMWPbnQSDGzkfb7xhsJPTbSCo5YxBcsG5Z3mSN3I3W85hSDY2O0BIC2OPweEZZczFfDdyt0nzMBxI3EZQCzOPYTMPG3Niw42cZ0RqYWNLZuZpO5w44cwZNiK18DAfY5xxJg0UyMaWcwyI8Iv8/IdtDB8qbEBR+fDGmwo7OYJaUIAED5FRg6yFVB2jYBSMglEwIgAAwXxFJOTktDAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dahuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhu","suffix":""},{"id":596581914,"identity":"c90a5f49-ef25-4347-8aca-59b6c498496a","order_by":2,"name":"Junling Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junling","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-24 03:30:43","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8952179/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8952179/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104397523,"identity":"dccaf643-5d11-446f-9c1b-4fefc2068da1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 11:50:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2324430,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8952179/v1_covered_fecb5f03-a06d-45b5-a4da-ef7b978172e7.pdf"},{"id":103474955,"identity":"aeca03d3-679a-455f-8c72-9c1ce45a7624","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 06:44:23","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":315065,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSolute-Driven Defect Engineering in a Tungsten‑Based High‑Entropy Alloy for Extreme Radiation Tolerance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"GraphicalAbstract.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8952179/v1/e6e9430c43c91c24cfb00a8e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eSolute-Driven Defect Engineering in a Tungsten‑Based High‑Entropy Alloy for Extreme Radiation Tolerance\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Science and Technology of China","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"W-based HEAs, Helium bubble suppression, Defect‑solute interaction, Dislocation loop tailoring, Chemical disorder, Atomistic simulation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8952179/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8952179/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eFusion energy demands materials that withstand extreme helium irradiation, a challenge that conventional tungsten fails to meet due to bubble embrittlement and hardening. 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