@article{LIU2020, 
author = {Da LIU and Honghua LIU and Shanshan NING and Yanhui CHU},
title = {Chrysanthemum-like high-entropy diboride nanoflowers: A new class of high-entropy nanomaterials},
year = {2020},
journal = {Journal of Advanced Ceramics},
volume = {9},
number = {3},
pages = {339-348},
keywords = {high-entropy materials, diborides, nanomaterials, molten salt synthesis},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s40145-020-0373-x},
doi = {10.1007/s40145-020-0373-x},
abstract = {High-entropy nanomaterials have been arousing considerable interest in recent years due to their huge composition space, unique microstructure, and adjustable properties. Previous studies focused mainly on high-entropy nanoparticles, while other high-entropy nanomaterials were rarely reported. Herein, we reported a new class of high-entropy nanomaterials, namely (Ta0.2Nb0.2Ti0.2W0.2Mo0.2)B2 high-entropy diboride (HEB-1) nanoflowers, for the first time. Formation possibility of HEB-1 was first theoretically analyzed from two aspects of lattice size difference and chemical reaction thermodynamics. We then successfully synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers by a facile molten salt synthesis method at 1423 K. The as-synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers showed an interesting chrysanthemum-like morphology assembled from numerous well-aligned nanorods with diameters of 20-30 nm and lengths of 100-200 nm. Meanwhile, these nanorods possessed a single-crystalline hexagonal structure of metal diborides and highly compositional uniformity from nanoscale to microscale. In addition, the formation of the as-synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers could be well interpreted by a classical surface-controlled crystal growth theory. This work not only enriches the categories of high-entropy nanomaterials but also opens up a new research field on high-entropy diboride nanomaterials.}
}