Low-temperature molten salt synthesis of high-entropy carbide nanopowders

Synthesis of the powders is critical for achieving the extensive applications of high-entropy carbides (HECs). Previously reported studies focus mainly on the high-temperature (>2000 K) synthesis of HEC micro/submicropowder, while the low-temperature synthesis of HEC nanopowders is rarely studied. Herein we reported the low-temperature synthesis of HEC nanopowders, namely (Ta 0.25 Nb 0.25 Ti 0.25 V 0.25 )C (HEC-1), via molten salt synthesis for the first time. The synthesis possibility of HEC-1 nanopowders was first theoretically demonstrated by analyzing lattice size difference and chemical reaction thermodynamics based on the first-principle calculations, and then the angular HEC-1 nanopowders were successfully synthesized via molten salt synthesis at 1573 K. The as-synthesized nanopowders possessed the single-crystal rock-salt structure of metal carbides and high compositional uniformity from nanoscale to microscale. In addition, their formation mechanism was well interpreted by a classical molten salt-assisted growth.