Critical review of high-entropy alloys for catalysts: Design, synthesis, and applications

Abstract

The vast scope of the compositional tuning of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) allows for the development of key materials with diverse properties and target attributes. The high catalytic activity of these alloys in various reactions, including water cracking, carbon and nitrogen catalysis, photocatalytic hydrogen production, dye degradation, hydrogen storage, biomass degradation, and catalytic hydrogenation, has aroused interest in the development and application of HEA catalysts. This paper summarizes the latest catalytic applications of HEAs in 23 directions, discusses their catalytic mechanism, and introduces prediction tools and diverse synthesis methods for HEAs. The importance of computationally assisted methods, including density functional theory calculations, high-throughput calculations, and machine learning, is emphasized in HEA property prediction and design. Additionally, the challenges faced by HEAs in the field of catalysis are discussed, along with potential possibilities for their development in terms of their composition and synthesis.