Abstract
High-entropy carbides (HECs) are a new class of materials with properties that are promising for applications in extreme environments, involving high temperature, corrosion, and high ion-flux. In HECs, multiple principal cations form solid solutions, similar to medium/high-entropy alloys (M/HEA). However, mixing of atoms can be non-ideal, resulting in chemical short-range order (CSRO). CSRO has been already reported in M/HEAs, cation-disordered oxides, and high-entropy oxides and in many cases, it was found to have significant impact on materials properties. CSRO in covalently-bonded high-entropy ceramics has not been observed so far, and its potential impact on materials properties is unknown. In contrast to M/HEAs, in HECs only one of the sublattices forms a solid solution, and therefore it is unclear whether the concept of CSRO extends to HECs. Here, we report the observation of CSRO in multiple HECs using a combination of atomistic simulations and scanning transmission electron microscopy. We find that CSRO in HECs can be controlled by both selection of chemical elements and heat treatment, and it significantly improves radiation resistance, although it is not the only factor. Our findings expand the understanding of CSRO to HECs and provide a pathway for design of new materials for extreme environments.
Data availability
Source data are provided with this paper. All data that support this study are presented in the main text and/or the Supplementary Information and are available from the corresponding author upon request. Source data are provided with this paper.
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Acknowledgements
I.S., S.W., and M.W.Q. gratefully acknowledge support from the Department of Energy Basic Energy Science Program (grant # DEFG02–08ER46493). J.W. and P.M.V. acknowledge support for STEM experiments and simulations from the Harvey D. Spangler Professorship at UW-Madison and from the National Science Foundation (OAC-1931298) for preparation of the STEM datasets for dissemination. S.W. acknowledges the help from Fengdan Pan for training on ball milling. This work used the TACC’s Stampede3 at the University of Texas at Austin through allocation TG-MAT240078, from the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program62, which is supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grants #2138259, #2138286, #2138307, #2137603, and #2138296.
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S.W., M.W.Q., and I.S. conceived the project, and I.S. supervised the project. J.W. and S.W. designed and performed the 4D-STEM and J.W. performed 4D-STEM analysis work. M.W.Q., J.X., and S.A. trained the MLIP, and M.W.Q. conducted DFT and MD simulations. S.W., X.H., L.L., E.W., R.S., H.Z., X.W., K.S., and J.H.P. prepared the materials, samples, heat treatment. L.L., J.H.P., and S.W. designed and conducted DTA. S.W. conducted the XRD and TEM experiments. S.W., M.W.Q., J.W., P.M.V., and I.S. prepared the manuscript, and all authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Wei, S., Qureshi, M.W., Wei, J. et al. Short-range order in high entropy carbides. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69095-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69095-8
