Intragranular-heterostructured FeCuNi medium-entropy alloy through immiscibility design approach

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.10.059

J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 262: 270-284.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.10.059

Intragranular-heterostructured FeCuNi medium-entropy alloy through immiscibility design approach

Peyman Asghari-Rad^a,b,1, Hyeonseok Kwon^a,c,1, Alireza Zargaran^d, Jae Bok Seol^e, Jaemin Wang^f, Nhung Thi-Cam Nguyen^a, Praveen Sathiyamoorthi^a,g, Young-Kook Lee^d,h, Hyoung Seop Kim^a,d,i,j,*

^aDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, South Korea;
^bMaterials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 424 Steidle Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States;
^cDepartment of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom;
^dGraduate Institute of Ferrous and Eco Materials Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, South Korea;
^eSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Kookmin University, Seoul 02707, South Korea;
^fMax Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany;
^gDepartment of Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, 221005, India;
^hDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, South Korea;
ⁱInstitute for Convergence Research and Education in Advanced Technology, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, South Korea;
^jAdvanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan

Received:2025-08-01 Revised:2025-10-28 Accepted:2025-10-28 Published:2026-08-10 Online:2025-11-06
Contact: ^*E-mail address: hskim@postech.ac.kr (H.S. Kim).
About author:¹These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Abstract: In the present work, a new type of heterogeneous structure with nanoscale intragranular-immiscible heterogeneity is introduced in an equiatomic FeCuNi medium-entropy alloy processed by high-pressure torsion and subsequent annealing. Microstructural analysis reveals a unique heterogeneous microstructure where the phase decomposition into FeNi-rich face-centered cubic (FCC) and Cu-rich FCC occurs within the grains. The constituent phases are composed of entirely different chemical compositions but with similar crystalline structures, orientation, and lattice parameters. The present heterogeneous intragranular-immiscible structure presents a high hetero-deformation induced strengthening, leading to an eminent synergy of high yield strength and high work hardening capability that surpasses existing alloys in the Fe-Cu system. The present heterostructured material exhibits a unique nanoscale distribution of hard and soft domains enclosed within each single grain, a maximized interface fraction between the domains, and a controllable fraction of hard phase by fine-tuning the processing temperature, leading to a high hetero-deformation-induced extra strengthening.

Key words: Heterogeneous structure, High-entropy alloys, Hetero-deformation induced strengthening, Phase decomposition, Severe plastic deformation

Peyman Asghari-Rad, Hyeonseok Kwon, Alireza Zargaran, Jae Bok Seol, Jaemin Wang, Nhung Thi-Cam Nguyen, Praveen Sathiyamoorthi, Young-Kook Lee, Hyoung Seop Kim. Intragranular-heterostructured FeCuNi medium-entropy alloy through immiscibility design approach[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2026, 262: 270-284.

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Intragranular-heterostructured FeCuNi medium-entropy alloy through immiscibility design approach

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