Topic: High-Entropy Materials Under Extremes

High-entropy materials (HEMs), characterized by multi-principal elemental compositions, high configurational entropy, and stabilized single-phase solid solutions, possess unique intrinsic effects including severe lattice distortion, sluggish atomic diffusion, and a cocktail synergistic effect, which fundamentally differentiate them from conventional single/principal-element materials.  They provide a new material library for many frontier engineering systems that push the boundaries of operating conditions, including hypersonic flight, advanced nuclear energy, deep space and deep ocean exploration. They expand the operational envelope of materials and inspire new strategies for developing next-generation extreme-condition materials. This special issue/topic systematically elaborates the unique superiority and engineering significance of HEMs serving under typical extreme conditions, covering high temperature, cryogenic temperature, strong radiation, high pressure, and harsh corrosive environments.  Different from traditional materials that suffer from structural degradation, performance attenuation and premature failure under extreme stimuli, HEMs exhibit exceptional high-temperature structural stability and creep resistance, excellent cryogenic strength-ductility synergy, prominent radiation damage tolerance, superior high-pressure phase stability, and enhanced multi-media corrosion resistance.  More importantly, HEMs demonstrate unparalleled adaptability under multi-field coupled extreme conditions, addressing the long-standing limitation of conventional materials optimized only for single extreme service scenarios.  Despite existing challenges including difficult large-scale fabrication, uncertain long-term phase stability and immature performance prediction systems, HEMs have established an innovative material design paradigm.  They greatly expand the service boundary of structural and functional materials, providing critical candidate materials and new technical pathways for cutting-edge fields such as hypersonic aerospace equipment, advanced nuclear energy systems, deep space and deep-sea exploration, and extreme environmental chemical engineering.  

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

● AI for HEMs (The Smart Design of Advanced HEMs);

● Radiation Tolerance and Damage Evolution of HEMs for Advanced Nuclear Systems;

● Cryogenic Performance and Strength-Ductility Synergy of HEMs for Deep-Space and Deep-Sea Exploration;

● High-Temperature Stability, Oxidation and Creep Resistance of Extreme-Environment HEMs;

● Corrosion Resistance and Interface Protection Mechanism of HEMs in Harsh Chemical Media;

● Multi-Field Coupling Service Behavior and Failure Mechanism of HEMs;

● Advanced HEMs for Green Energy and Ecosystems.