Stable high-entropy TiZrHfNbVCrMoMnFeCoNiAl Laves phase

Recent researches in the field of high-entropy materials reveal an intriguing result: the multi-component systems combining the chemical elements with diverse valencies and radii can form single-phase solid solutions with the structure of intermetallic Laves phases. Here we report the fabrication of hexagonal Laves phase (C14, prototype ${\text{MgZn}}_2$) in duodenary TiZrHfNbVCrMoMnFeCoNiAl alloy. The phase is stable after the thermal treatment at 973 K for 50 h. To characterize the material, we examine its electrical conductivity and magnetic properties. The measurements reveal that the Laves phase is a Curie-Weiss paramagnet, which demonstrates metallic conduction and a pronounced Kondo-like anomaly at 80 K. Analysis of experimental data as well as ab initio calculations suggests that chemical complexity and compositional disorder cause strong s-d band scattering and thus the rather high density of $d$-states in the conduction band.