A critical review of advances and application prospects of soft magnetic high entropy alloys

doi:10.1016/j.metadv.2026.01.007

Abstract

Abstract:

The design strategy of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) indicates that the range of alloy design has been extended to the central regions of multi-element-phase diagrams, which leads to a significant increase in the degree of compositional freedom. Therefore, the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the HEA can be coordinated through fine composition and structural modification, especially for two or more conflicting properties such as soft magnetism and other properties. However, the intricate interactions between elements, the ever-changing microstructure, and the incompatibility between soft magnetic and other properties generate a complex web of factors. This work reviewed the typical HEA cases with consideration of soft magnetic along with other properties such as resistivity, mechanical properties, high-temperature magnetic properties, corrosion resistance, etc. The underlying mechanism that interplays the chemical composition, microstructure, and soft magnetic multifunctional properties has been discussed. In addition, the design and processing technology of multifunctional soft magnetic HEAs are also discussed.

Key words: High entropy alloys, Soft magnetic properties, Multifunctional properties, Chemical composition, Microstructure

Shang Zhao, Zhaolin Wang, Mingliang Wang, Zeyu Ding, Yiping Lu. A critical review of advances and application prospects of soft magnetic high entropy alloys[J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 40: 1-7.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1. Properties, composition, and microstructure of soft magnetic HEAs.

Fig. 2. Saturation polarization versus coercivity of soft magnetic HEAs compared with traditional soft-magnetic materials [32].

Fig. 3. Saturation magnetization, coercivity, and resistivity of typical soft magnetic HEAs [31,35,53,56] and compared with traditional soft-magnetic materials, such as Fe [54], [55], [59], Fe-Ni [54], [55], [59], Fe-Si [55], [59], Fe-Co-V [55], [59], [60], and Hitperm alloy [4], [61].

Fig. 4. Effect of nanoprecipitates on the mechanical and soft magnetic properties of HEAs. (a) Ultimate tensile strength × elongation at fracture and intrinsic coercivity of HEAs [30], [47], [53], [75], [76], [78], [79], [80], [81] compared with traditional soft-magnetic alloys, such as Fe-Ni [82], [83], Fe-Si [84], Fe-Co-V [85]. (b) Schematic diagram of the properties of nanoprecipitates and their pinning effect on magnetic domain walls.

Fig. 5. Main considerations and typical synthesis techniques for the multifunctional soft magnetic HEAs developments.

References 124

[1]	M. Littmann, IEEE Trans. Magn. 7 (1971) 48-60. DOI URL
[2]	J.H. White,C.V. Wahl, Workable Magnetic Compositions Containing Principally Iron and Cobalt: U.S. Patent 1, 862, 559. 1932-6-14.
[3]	Z.Y. Ji, Y. Ma, Q. Wang, C. Dong, J. Mater. Eng. 50 (2022) 69-80.
[4]	M.A. Willard, D.E. Laughlin, M.E. McHenry, D. Thoma, J. Appl. Phys. 84 (1998) 6773-6777.
[5]	Y. Yoshizawa, S. Oguma, K. Yamauchi, J. Appl. Phys. 64 (1988) 6044-6046.
[6]	J.W. Yeh, S.K. Chen, S.J. Lin, J.Y. Gan, T.S. Chin, T.T. Shun, C.H. Tsau, S.Y. Chang, Adv. Eng. Mater. 6 (2004) 299-303. DOI URL
[7]	B. Cantor, I. Chang, P. Knight, A. Vincent, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 375-377 ( 2004) 213-218.
[8]	H. Chen, R. Qu, H. Ma, K. Song, F. Liu, Acta Metall. Sin. -Engl. Lett. 38 (2025) 529-541.
[9]	S. Dong, J. Xiong, Y. Tian, S. Chen, L. Wei, T. Zhang, Corros. Sci. 253 (2025) 113024. DOI URL
[10]	Z. Mao K. Zhang Y. Xia W. Peng J. Li Y. Liang X. Tan, H. Xu, Mater. Today Commun. 42 (2025) 111411.
[11]	Y. Liu F. Wang S. Chen H. Wang Z. Xiong K. Yaqoob Z. Wang M. Song, Acta Metall. Sin.-Engl. Lett. 37 (2024) 1491-1500.
[12]	L. Mustafi, V.T. Nguyen, T. Song, Q. Deng, L. Jiang, X.B. Chen, D.M. Fabijanic, M. Qian, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 214 (2025) 62-73.
[13]	Z. Li R. Parsons H. Kishimoto T. Shoji A. Kato J. Karel K. Suzuki J. Alloys Compd. 902 (2022) 162544. DOI URL
[14]	J. Xu Z.F. Zhao Y. Wang, Mater. Sci. Forum. 849 (2016) 52-57.
[15]	X. Tan Y. Tang Y. Tan Q. Deng H. Jiao Y. Yang, H. Xu, Intermetallics 126 (2020) 106898.
[16]	T. Zuo X. Yang P.K. Liaw Y. Zhang, Intermetallics 67 (2015) 171-176.
[17]	P. Sahu, A.S. Bagri, M.D. Anoop, M. Kumar, V. Kumar,Silicon 12 2020) 893-902.
[18]	J. Yang, Z. Liu, H. Zhou, L. Jia, A. Wu, L. Jiang, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 14 (2022) 12375-12384. DOI URL
[19]	S. Wang, S. Chen, Y. Jia, Z. Hu, H. Huang, Z. Yang, A. Dong, G. Zhu, D. Wang, D. Shu, F. Tian, Y. Dai, B. Sun, Mater. Des. 168 (2019) 107648. DOI URL
[20]	J. Duan, M. Wang, R. Huang, J. Miao, Y. Lu, T. Wang, T. Li, Sci. China Mater. 66 (2023) 772-779. DOI
[21]	B. Zhang, Y. Duan, H. Zhang, S. Huang, G. Ma, T. Wang, X. Dong, N. Jia, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 68 (2021) 124-131.
[22]	M. Zhu C. Zhang K. Li Y. Liu M. Zhang L. Yao Z. Jian, Acta Metall. Sin.-Engl. Lett. 34 (2021) 1557-1564.
[23]	Z. Li Z. Zhang X. Liu H. Li E. Zhang G. Bai H. Xu X. Liu X. Zhang, Acta Mater. 254 (2023) 118970.
[24]	S.S. Mishra, A. Bajpai, K. Biswas, J. Alloys Compd. 871 (2021) 159572. DOI URL
[25]	Y. Zhang, Z. Wang, X. Li, Q. Hao, R. Shi, Mater. Res. Bull. 138 (2021) 111212. DOI URL
[26]	S. Tao Z. Ahmad P. Zhang X. Zheng S. Zhang J. Alloys Compd. 816 (2020) 152619. DOI URL
[27]	P. Koželj, S. Vrtnik, A. Jelen, M. Krnel, D. Gačnik, G. Dražić, A. Meden, M. Wencka, D. Jezeršek, J. Leskovec, S. Maiti, W. Steurer, J. Dolinšek, Adv. Eng. Mater. 21 (2019) 1801055. DOI URL
[28]	M. Kurniawan, A. Perrin, P. Xu, V. Keylin, M. McHenry, IEEE Magn. Lett. 7 (2016) 1-5.
[29]	T. Zuo M.C. Gao L. Ouyang X. Yang Y. Cheng R. Feng S. Chen P.K. Liaw J.A. Hawk Y. Zhang, Acta Mater. 130 (2017) 10-18.
[30]	L. Han F. Maccari I. Soldatov N.J. Peter I.R.S. Filho R. Schäfer O. Gutfleisch Z. Li D. Raabe Nat. Commun. 14 (2023) 8176.
[31]	Y. Ma Q. Wang X. Zhou J. Hao B. Gault Q. Zhang C. Dong T.G. Nieh Adv. Mater. 33 (2021) 2006723.
[32]	G. Herzer, Acta Mater. 61 (2013) 718-734. DOI URL
[33]	T. Borkar, V. Chaudhary, B. Gwalani, D. Choudhuri, C.V. Mikler, V. Soni, T. Alam, R.V. Ramanujan, R. Banerjee, Adv. Eng. Mater. 19 (2017) 1700048. DOI URL
[34]	T. Borkar, B. Gwalani, D. Choudhuri, C.V. Mikler, C.J. Yannetta, X. Chen, R.V. Ramanujan, M.J. Styles, M.A. Gibson, R. Banerjee, Acta Mater. 116 (2016) 63-76. DOI URL
[35]	W. Gao Y. Dong X. Jia L. Yang X. Li S. Wu R. Zhao H. Wu Q. Li A. He J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 153 (2023) 22-31.
[36]	Z.B. Song, T.X. Huang, A. Jain, Y.G. Wang, Intermetallics 180 (2025) 108703.
[37]	X. Sun L. Du H. Lan J. Cui L. Wang R. Li Z. Liu J. Liu W. Zhang J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 73 (2021) 139-144.
[38]	M.S. Lucas, L. Mauger, J.A. Munoz, Y. Xiao, A.O. Sheets, S.L. Semiatin, J. Horwath, Z. Turgut, J. Appl. Phys. 109 (2011) 07E307.
[39]	C. Jung, K. Kang, A. Marshal, K. Pradeep, J. Seol, H. Lee, P. Choi, Acta Mater. 171 (2019) 31-39. DOI URL
[40]	Y. Orbay, Z. Rao, A. Çakır, T. Tavşanoğlu, M. Farle, M. Acet, 2023. Acta Mater. 259 (2023) 119240.
[41]	C. Yang, J. Zhang, M. Li, X. Liu, Acta Metall. Sin. -Engl. Lett. 33 (2020) 1124-1134.
[42]	T. Zuo Y. Cheng P. Chen Z. Gao Y. Zhang P.K. Liaw, Intermetallics 137 (2021) 107298.
[43]	S. Ogu Y. Iijim G. Herzer, Handbook of Magnetic Materials, Elsevier Science BV. Amsterdam, 1997.
[44]	W.D. Zhong, Ferro Magnetics. Science Press, BeijingChina, 1987.
[45]	F.E. Luborsky, J.D. Livingston, G.Y. Chin, Physical Metallurgy, Elsevier Science BV. Amsterdam, 1996.
[46]	O. Gutfleisch, M.A. Willard, E. Brück, C.H. Chen, S.G. Sankar, J.P. Liu, Adv. Mater. 23 (2011) 821-842. DOI URL
[47]	S. Dasari, V. Chaudhary, B. Gwalani, A. Jagetia, V. Soni, S. Gorsse, R. V. Ramanujan, R. Banerjee, Materialia 12 (2020) 100755.
[48]	R. Lang, H. Chen, J. Zhang, H. Li, D. Guo, J. Kou, L. Zhao, Y. Fang, X. Wang, X. Qi, Y. Wang, Y. Ren, H. Wang, Adv. Sci. 11 (2024) 2402162. DOI URL
[49]	S. Zhu Q. Yang K. Gan D. Yan Y. Zhang C. Liu, Z. Li, Acta Mater. 238 (2022) 118209.
[50]	H. Bishara, S. Lee, T. Brink, M. Ghidelli, G. Dehm, ACS Nano 15 (2021) 16607-16615.
[51]	G. Ouyang, X. Chen, Y. Liang, C. Macziewskia, J. Cui, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 481 (2019) 234-250. DOI URL
[52]	V. Chaudhary, S.A. Mantri, R.V. Ramanujan, R. Banerjee, Prog. Mater. Sci. 114 (2020) 100688. DOI URL
[53]	L. Han F. Maccari I.R. Souza N.J. Peter Y. Wei B. Gault O. Gutfleisch Z. Li D. Raabe, Nature 608 (2022) 310-316.
[54]	B.D. Cullity, C.D. Graham,Introduction to Magnetic Materials, 2nd ed., Addison Wesley. Boston, 1972.
[55]	ASM International Alloy Phase Diagram and the Handbook Committees, ASM Handbook in Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, ASM International, America, 1992.
[56]	Z. Wang, J. Yuan, Q. Wang, Z. Li, X. Zhou, J. Luan, J. Wang, S. Zheng, Z. Jiao, C. Dong, P.K. Liaw, Acta Mater. 266 (2024) 119686. DOI URL
[57]	M.A. Willard, D.E. Laughlin, M.E. McHenry, D. Thoma, K. Sickafus, J.O. Cross, V.G. Harris, J. Appl. Phys. 84 (1998) 6773-6777.
[58]	H.F. Sun, W.J. Qiang, Magnetic Functional Materials. Chemistry Industry Press, BeijingChina, 2007.
[59]	M.S. Lucas, L. Mauger, J.A. Munoz, Y. Xiao, A.O. Sheets, S.L. Semiatin, J. Horwath, Z. Turgut, Appl. Phys. 109 (2011).
[60]	T. Sourmail, Prog. Mater. Sci. 50 (2005) 816-880. DOI URL
[61]	I. Škorvánek, J. Marcin, T. Krenický, J. Kováč, P. Švec, D. Janičkovič, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 304 (2006) 203-207. DOI URL
[62]	H. Li J. Wang S. Lv C. Chen H. Luo Q. Wu Q. Zhang H. Zheng L. Zheng, Ceram. Int. 50 (2024) 25925-25932. DOI URL
[63]	T.X. Huang, Z.B. Song, A. Jain, Y.G. Wang, J. Alloys Compd. 1010 (2025) 178061. DOI URL
[64]	B. Xiao, J. Luan, S. Zhao, L. Zhang, S. Chen, Y. Zhao, L. Xu, C.T. Liu, J. Kai, T. Yang, Nat. Commun. 13 (2022) 4870. DOI PMID
[65]	J.Y. He, H. Wang, H.L. Huang, X.D. Xu, M.W. Chen, Y. Wu, X.J. Liu, T.G. Nieh, K. An, Z.P. Lu, Acta Mater. 102 (2016) 187-196. DOI URL
[66]	E. Lopatina, I. Soldatov, V. Budinsky, M. Marsilius, L. Schultz, G. Herzer, R. Schäfer, Acta Mater. 96 (2015) 10-17. DOI URL
[67]	D. Dorner, S. Zaefferer, L. Lahn, D. Raabe, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 304 (2006) 183-186. DOI URL
[68]	K. Hono, K. Hiraga, Q. Wang, A. Inoue, T. Sakurai, Acta Mater. 40 (1992) 2137-2147.
[69]	G. Bertotti, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 320 (2008) 2436-2442. DOI URL
[70]	G. Herzer, Scr. Mater. 33 (1995) 1741-1756.
[71]	T. Osaka, M. Takai, K. Hayashi, K. Ohashi, M. Saito, K. Yamada, Nature 392 (1998) 796-798.
[72]	R.O. Ritchie, Nat. Mater. 10 (2011) 817-822. DOI PMID
[73]	R. Wu B. Gao Q. Yang J. Non-cryst. Solids 546 (2020) 120274. DOI URL
[74]	C. Liu W. Peng C.S. Jiang H. Guo J. Tao X. Deng Z. Chen J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 35 (2019) 1175-1183.
[75]	L. Han Z. Rao I.R. Souza F. Maccari Y. Wei G. Wu A. Ahmadian X. Zhou O. Gutfleisch D. Ponge D. Raabe Z. Li Adv. Mater. 33 (2021) 2102139.
[76]	Z. Fu B.E. MacDonald A.D. Dupuy X. Wang T.C. Monsonc R.E. Delaney C. J. Pearce K. Hu Z. Jiang Y. Zhou J.M. Schoenung W. Chen E.J. Lavernia, Appl. Mater. Today 15 (2019) 590-598.
[77]	T. Chen, W. Chen, Z. Jiang, D. Zhu, Z. Fu, Vacuum 218 (2023) 112601.
[78]	T. Lu T. He P. Zhao K. Sun A.F. Andreoli H. Chen W. Chen Z. Fu S. Scudino J. Mater. Process. Technol. 289 (2021) 116945. DOI URL
[79]	P. Li A. Wang C.T. Liu J. Alloys Compd. 694 (2017) 55-60. DOI URL
[80]	C. Chen, H. Zhang, Y. Fan, W. Zhang, R. Wei, T. Wang, T. Zhang, F. Li, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 502 (2020) 166513. DOI URL
[81]	P. Li A. Wang, C.T. Liu, Intermetallics 87 (2017) 21-26.
[82]	H. Ren J. Gao Z. Wang C. Li F. Wang Z. Guo, J. Iron. Steel Res. Int. 24 (2017) 844-851.
[83]	P.V. Yekta, A. Ghasemi, E.M. Sharifi, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 468 (2018) 155-163. DOI URL
[84]	C.W. Chen, Magnetism and Metallurgy of Soft Magnetic Materials, North-Holland Pub. Co.. Amsterdam, 2013, pp. 368-417.
[85]	K. Kawahara, M. Uehara, J. Mater. Sci. 19 (1984) 2575-2581. DOI URL
[86]	Y. Pan G. Liu X. Liu J. Gou T. Ma J. Mater. Res. Technol. 36 (2025) 1431-1439.
[87]	S. Zhao, M.L. Wang, X.D. Han, Z. Ding, H. Wang, P.K. Liaw, Y. Wang, Y. Lu, Mater. Today 88 (2025) 45-54. DOI URL
[88]	J.M. Silveyra, E. Ferrara, D.L. Huber, T.C. Monson, Science 362 (2018) eaao0195.
[89]	T. Oguchi, Phys. Rev. 117 (1960) 117-123. DOI URL
[90]	B.E. Argyle, S.H. Charap, E.W. Pugh, Phys. Rev. 132 (1963) 2051-2062. DOI URL
[91]	C. Zhang, Q. Yu, Y.T. Tang, M. Xu, H. Wang, C. Zhu, J. Ell, S. Zhao, B.E. MacDonald, P. Cao, J.M. Schoenung, K.S. Vecchio, R.C. Reed, R.O. Ritchie, E.J. Lavernia, Acta Mater. 242 (2023) 118449. DOI URL
[92]	M. Wang, Y. Lu, J. Lan, T. Wang, C. Zhang, Z. Cao, T. Li, P.K. Liaw, Acta Mater. 248 (2023) 118806. DOI URL
[93]	S.X. Wang, N.X. Sun, M. Yamaguchi, S. Yabukami, Nature 407 (2000) 150-151.
[94]	E.A. Perigo, B. Weidenfeller, P. Kollár, J. Füzer, Appl. Phys. Rev. 5 (2018) 031301. DOI URL
[95]	S.K. Guo, Z.L. Ma, G.H. Xia, X.Y. Li, Z.Q. Xu, W.Z. Li, X.Y. Jin, X.W. Cheng, Acta Mater. 263 (2024) 119492. DOI URL
[96]	L. Wei Y. Liu Q. Li Y.F. Cheng, Corros. Sci. 146 (2019) 44-57. DOI URL
[97]	R.S. Sundar, S.C. Deevi, Int. Mater. Rev. 50 (2005) 157-192. DOI URL
[98]	P. Wu K. Gan D. Yan Z. Fu, Z. Li, Corros. Sci. 183 (2021) 109341.
[99]	Y. Shi B. Yang X. Xie J. Brechtl K.A. Dahmen P.K. Liaw, Corros. Sci. 119 (2017) 33-45. DOI URL
[100]	X. Jin X. Gu F. Quan X. Ran K. Zhang, A. Mao, Mater. Sci. Eng. Technol. 50 (2019) 837-843.
[101]	R.F. Zhao, B. Ren, G.P. Zhang, Z. Liu, B. Cai, J. Zhang, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 491 (2019) 165574. DOI URL
[102]	W. Wang, H. Li, P. Wei, W. Zhang, J. Chen, S. Yuan, Y. Fan, R. Wei, T. Zhang, T. Wang, C. Chen, F. Li, Mater. Lett. 304 (2021) 130571. DOI URL
[103]	H. Song, C. Feng, Z. Guan, F. Zhang, H. Ma, Z. Ma, Y. Zhang, X. Zheng, W. Zhang, C. Guo, F. Tian, J. Alloys Compd. 1010 (2024) 177415. DOI URL
[104]	Z. Li K. Mei J. Dong Y. Yang J. Sun, Z. Luo, Surf. Coat. Technol. 487 (2024) 130949.
[105]	J. Dai H. Feng H.B. Li H.C. Zhu S.C. Zhang J.D. Qu T. Zhang J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 182 (2024) 152-164.
[106]	F.B. Behbahani, M. Reihanian, K. Gheisari, J. Alloys Compd. 1030 (2025) 180870. DOI URL
[107]	S. Li W. Niu Y. Zheng, Y. Lei, Mater. Today Commun. 41 (2024) 110473.
[108]	B. Pan X. Xu J. Yang H. Zhan L. Feng Q. Long Q. Yao J. Deng L. Cheng Z. Lu H. Zhou, Mater. Today Commun. 39 (2024) 109314.
[109]	Z. Wu B. Li M. Chen Y. Yang R. Zheng L. Yuan Z. Li X. Tan H. Xu J. Alloys Compd. 901 (2022) 163665. DOI URL
[110]	S. Huang, Á. Vida, A. Heczel, E. Holmström, L. Vitos, JOM 69 (2017) 2107-2112.
[111]	D. Ma B. Grabowski F. Körmann J. Neugebauer D. Raabe, Acta Mater. 100 (2015) 90-97.
[112]	F. Zhang, C. Zhang, S.L. Chen, J. Zhu, W.S. Cao, U.R. Kattner, Calphad 45 (2014) 1-10.
[113]	Z. Rao P.Y. Tung R. Xie Y. Wei H. Zhang A. Ferrari T.P.C. Klaver F. Körmann P.T. Sukumar A. Silva Y. Chen Z. Li D. Ponge J. Neugebauer O. Gutfleisch S. Bauer D. Raabe, Science 378 (2022) 78-85.
[114]	C. Yang, C. Ren, Y. Jia, G. Wang, M. Li, W. Lu, Acta Mater. 222 (2022) 117431. DOI URL
[115]	R. Feng, C. Zhang, M.C. Gao, Z. Pei, F. Zhang, Y. Chen, D. Ma, K. An, J. D. Poplawsky, L. Ouyang, Y. Ren, J.A. Hawk, M. Widom, P.K. Liaw, Nat. Commun. 12 (2021) 4329. DOI PMID
[116]	C. Guo S. Wei Z. Wu P. Wang B. Zhang U. Ramamurty, X. Qu, Mater. Des. 228 (2023) 111847.
[117]	B. Gwalani, V. Soni, O.A. Waseem, S.A. Mantri, R. Banerjee, Opt. Laser Technol. 113 (2019) 330-337. DOI
[118]	V. Chaudhary, R. Chaudhary, R. Banerjee, R.V. Ramanujan, Mater. Today 49 (2021) 231-252. DOI URL
[119]	A. Marshal, K.G. Pradeep, D. Music, L. Wang, O. Petracic, J.M. Schneider, Sci. Rep. 9 (2019) 7864. DOI PMID
[120]	Y. Wang, Y. Tian, T. Kirk, O. Larisc, J.H.R. Jr, R.D. Noebe, V. Keylin, R. Arroyave, Acta Mater. 194 (2020) 144-155. DOI URL
[121]	Z. Li A. Ludwig A. Savan H. Springer D. Raabe J. Mater. Res. 33 (2018) 3156-3169.
[122]	A. Akbari, T.J. Balk, MRS Commun. 9 (2019) 750-755. DOI
[123]	G. Shang, L. Jiang, Z.Z. Liu, X. Lu, J. Alloys Compd. 917 (2022) 165513. DOI URL
[124]	L. Zhao, Y. Zhou, H. Wang, X. Chen, L. Yang, L. Zhang, L. Jiang, Y. Jia, X. Chen, H. Wang, Metall. Mater. Trans. A 52 (2021) 1159-1168. DOI