Segregation and migration of species in the CrCoFeNi high entropy alloy

The formation and migration of intrinsic defects in the CrCoFeNi high entropy alloy has been investigated using ab-initio modeling. The ease of vacancy formation was found to vary depending on the element: vacancies formed by the removal of Fe, Ni and Co are positive while Cr has a negative vacancy formation energy and will precipitate out of the CrCoFeNi alloy. This mechanism may allow the formation of a corrosion passivating oxide layer, analogous to Cr behaviour in stainless steels. The migration and behaviour of intrinsic interstitial defects has also been investigated. Crown Copyright (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.