High-entropy nanoparticles: Synthesis-structure-property relationships and data-driven discovery

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 376; no. 6589; p. eabn3103
• Main Authors: Yao, Yonggang, Dong, Qi, Brozena, Alexandra, Luo, Jian, Miao, Jianwei, Chi, Miaofang, Wang, Chao, Kevrekidis, Ioannis G., Ren, Zhiyong Jason, Greeley, Jeffrey, Wang, Guofeng, Anapolsky, Abraham, Hu, Liangbing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 08.04.2022
• Subjects: Amorphous materials; Atomic structure; Cascade chemical reactions; Catalysis; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Composition; Computer applications; Crystal defects; Data mining; Design optimization; Electron states; Energy; Energy technology; Entropy; Evolution; Experimental methods; Experimentation; Exploration; High-throughput screening; Literary Devices; Machine learning; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Opportunities; Optimization; Phosphates; Physicochemical properties; Scientific Concepts; Selectivity; Solid solutions; Structural analysis; Structural stability; Synthesis
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.abn3103

High-entropy nanoparticles have become a rapidly growing area of research in recent years. Because of their multielemental compositions and unique high-entropy mixing states (i.e., solid-solution) that can lead to tunable activity and enhanced stability, these nanoparticles have received notable attention for catalyst design and exploration. However, this strong potential is also accompanied by grand challenges originating from their vast compositional space and complex atomic structure, which hinder comprehensive exploration and fundamental understanding. Through a multidisciplinary view of synthesis, characterization, catalytic applications, high-throughput screening, and data-driven materials discovery, this review is dedicated to discussing the important progress of high-entropy nanoparticles and unveiling the critical needs for their future development for catalysis, energy, and sustainability applications. Multielement nanoparticles are attractive for a variety of applications in catalysis, energy, and other fields. A more diverse range and larger number of elements can be mixed together because of high-entropy mixing states accessed by a number of recently developed techniques. Yao et al . review these techniques along with characterization methods, high-throughput screening, and data-driven discovery for targeted applications. The wide range of different elements that can be mixed together presents a large number of opportunities and challenges. —BG A review highlights improvements in synthesizing and stabilizing multielement nanoparticles.