The innovation engine for new materials

Kim Michèle Jost

Kim Michèle Jost

University: 

Saarland University

Major: 

Physics

Mentor(s): 

Justin Mayer

Faculty Sponsor(s): 

Ram Seshadri

Faculty Sponsor's Department: 

Materials

Project Title: 

Determining the Extent of Order in Ternary Cantor Alloy Derivatives

Project Description: 

Whenever we encounter a metal in everyday life, it is most likely an alloy consisting primarily of one main element (e.g. steel consists primarily of Fe). Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in alloys that consist of more than one principal element, but our knowledge of them is still very limited. Through this study we aim to gain a better understanding of these so-called multi-principal element alloys, ultimately paving the way for less trivial alloy compositions to be utilized in future industrial applications. To this effect, we examined different alloys in the composition space of Fe, Mn, and Co to uncover how the extent of order present within particular alloy compositions influences the resulting material properties. Within this contribution, we report on a novel rapid microwave synthesis strategy that allows us to prepare alloys over a wide range of compositions within the Fe, Mn, and Co composition space in a timely manner. Furthermore, we plan to confirm the quality of the produced materials through SQUID magnetometer measurements, synchrotron X‑ray diffraction, and pair distribution function analysis. We thereby hope to gain a thorough understanding of how alloy performance varies with composition, which may enable us to develop advanced materials with very specific qualities, for example in terms of strength and corrosion resistance.