Electrical resistivity and short-range order in rapid-quenched CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are equimolar solid solution alloys composed of more than five elements, and their atomic arrangement is chemically disordered. Some ordering in HEAs, however, is suspected from the characteristic properties, such as high strength with good ductility at low temperatures or sluggish diffusion. Herein, we report that quasi-stable states inherent in nonequilibrium systems can be extracted by applying an electric pulse current to the system (electropulsing). In this study, changes in the electrical resistivity of the rapid-quenched CrMnFeCoNi HEA were investigated after electropulsing. No step-like large decreases reflecting nanocrystallization in amorphous alloys were observed for rapid-quenched CrMnFeCoNi by electropulsing. This indicates that quasi-stable ordered atom clusters do not exist in the CrMnFeCoNi HEA. However, the resistivity showed a slight decrease and increased with increasing electropulsing current density. A tendency to form short-range order, as Cr is preferentially surrounded by Ni, is suggested by comparison with the results of NiCr alloys.