Unveiling the Transporting Mechanism of (Ti0.2Zr0.2Nb0.2Hf0.2Ta0.2)C at Room Temperature

Abstract

High-entropy materials have been widely researched in recent years, and more work on their thermal and electrical properties is still needed. Herein, we fabricate a high-entropy carbide (Ti0.2Zr0.2Nb0.2Hf0.2Ta0.2)C ceramic and report the thermal and electrical conductivity at room temperature using first-principles calculations and experiments. The movement of phonons is suppressed in high-entropy carbides when analyzing the thermal and electrical conductivity at room temperature, but the movement of electrons is not. After the first-principles calculations on the electronic structure and lattice vibration and experiments, we give the reasons why the rule of mixture can predict electrical conductivity but not thermal conductivity at room temperature. Finally, we outline the cause of the similar lattice patterns between TaC and (Ti0.2Zr0.2Nb0.2Hf0.2Ta0.2)C.