{
  "abstract": "High entropy oxides are commonly associated with high configurational entropy ($ΔS_{conf}\\geq$ 1.61R) corresponding to five equimolar cations occupying a crystallographic sublattice. However, recent experimental observations indicate that medium-entropy compositions may also exhibit entropy-stabilized rock-salt phases, raising an important question regarding the minimum entropy required for phase stabilization. In this work, we employ a first-principles thermodynamic framework to investigate the stability of rock-salt oxides containing two to five principal cations components analogous to (Ni$_{0.8}$Cu$_{0.2}$)O, (Ni$_{0.6}$Cu$_{0.2}$Zn$_{0.2}$)O, (Ni$_{0.4}$Cu$_{0.2}$Zn$_{0.2}$Co$_{0.2}$)O, (Ni$_{0.2}$Cu$_{0.2}$Zn$_{0.2}$Co$_{0.2}$Mg$_{0.2}$)O. Density functional theory, MCSQS-based structural modeling, and finite-temperature Gibbs free-energy analysis are combined to quantify the roles of enthalpy mixing ($ΔH_{mix}$), configurational ($ΔS_{conf}$), vibrational ($ΔS_{vib}$), electronic and magnetic ($ΔS_{mag}$) contributions towards ($ΔS_{elec}$) entropy change in governing phase stability. The results show that $ΔS_{conf}$ alone is not a universal descriptor of phase stability. While the two-cation system is enthalpy-stabilized but three-, four- and five-cation systems become thermodynamically stable at high-temperature due to entropy-driven reduction of the Gibbs free energy. These findings demonstrate that single-phase rock-salt oxides are not restricted to the conventional high-entropy limit and that medium-entropy compositions can also be stabilized under suitable thermodynamic conditions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "Journal reference: Journal of Materials Chemistry A (2026)",
  "arxiv": "2606.00753",
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Supriya Ghosal"
    },
    {
      "name": "Swapan Pati"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ashutosh Kumar"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/286cw90zp6t1c.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.00753",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "286cw90zp6t1c",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.00753",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.00753",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/286cw90zp6t1c.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:34:18Z",
      "native_id": "2606.00753",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.00753"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mtrl-sci",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Thermodynamic origin of entropy-assisted stabilization in multicomponent rock-salt oxides",
  "title_text": "Thermodynamic origin of entropy-assisted stabilization in multicomponent rock-salt oxides",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:18Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/286cw90zp6t1c",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1039/d6ta05341f",
      "pid": null,
      "relation": "published-as",
      "title": null,
      "venue": null
    }
  ]
}