High-entropy intermetallics: emerging inorganic materials for designing high-performance catalysts

Abstract

Alloy materials have been used as promising platforms to upgrade catalytic performance that cannot be achieved with conventional monometallic materials. As a result of numerous efforts, the recent progress in the field of alloy catalysis has been remarkable, and a wide range of new advanced alloys have been considered as potential electro/thermal catalysts. Among advanced alloy materials, high-entropy intermetallics are novel materials, and their excellent catalytic performance has recently been reported. High-entropy intermetallics have several advantages over disordered solid-solution high-entropy alloys, that is, greater structural/thermal stability, more facile site isolation, more precise control of electronic structures, tunability, and multifunctionality. A multidimensional compositional space is indeed limitless, but such a compositional space also provides a well-designed surface configuration because of its ordered nature. In this review, we will provide fundamental insights into high-entropy intermetallics, including thermodynamic properties, synthesis requirements, characterization techniques, roles in catalysis, and reaction examples. The comprehensive information provided in this review will highlight the great application potential of high-entropy intermetallics for catalysis, and will accelerate the development of this newly developed field.