Grain-Size Dependence of Thermal and Electrical Properties in (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-δ High-Entropy Carbide Ceramics
Abstract
Thermal and electrical transport in high-entropy carbides can be influenced by grain-boundary scattering, but the relevant microstructural regime remains uncertain. Here, near-fully dense (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1−δ ceramics were densified by spark plasma sintering at 1750-1950 °C, producing average grain sizes from 9.3 ± 4.9 to 28.8 ± 15.3 μm while retaining the rock-salt phase. Heat capacities were measured experimentally and estimated by the Neumann-Kopp law with the latter used to calculate thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity values were in the range of 6.8-7.1 W m−1 K−1 at room temperature, but showed no systematic dependence on grain size within the investigated range. Room-temperature electrical resistivity values were in the range of 151.9 to 177.0 μΩ cm and likewise showed no grain-size dependence. The electron contribution to room-temperature thermal conductivity was estimated to be approximately 58-68% of total thermal conductivity as estimated using the Wiedemann-Franz law and the theoretical Lorenz number. The results indicated that processing-induced grain coarsening did not produce clearly resolvable transport-property changes under the conditions investigated leading to the conclusion that intrinsic disorder and defect chemistry may exert stronger influences on properties.
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BibTeX
@misc{sarikhani2026grainsize,
title = {{Grain-Size Dependence of Thermal and Electrical Properties in (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-δ High-Entropy Carbide Ceramics}},
author = {Ali Sarikhani and Gregory E. Hilmas and David W. Lipke and Douglas E. Wolfe and Stefano Curtarolo and Shen J. Dillon and William G. Fahrenholtz},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.20864},
eprint = {2610.20864},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.20864},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Grain-Size Dependence of Thermal and Electrical Properties in (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-δ High-Entropy Carbide Ceramics
AU - Ali Sarikhani
AU - Gregory E. Hilmas
AU - David W. Lipke
AU - Douglas E. Wolfe
AU - Stefano Curtarolo
AU - Shen J. Dillon
AU - William G. Fahrenholtz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.20864
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.20864
AB - Thermal and electrical transport in high-entropy carbides can be influenced by grain-boundary scattering, but the relevant microstructural regime remains uncertain. Here, near-fully dense (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C_1−δ ceramics were densified by spark plasma sintering at 1750-1950 °C, producing average grain sizes from 9.3 ± 4.9 to 28.8 ± 15.3 μm while retaining the rock-salt phase. Heat capacities were measured experimentally and estimated by the Neumann-Kopp law with the latter used to calculate thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity values were in the range of 6.8-7.1 W m^−1 K^−1 at room temperature, but showed no systematic dependence on grain size within the investigated range. Room-temperature electrical resistivity values were in the range of 151.9 to 177.0 μΩ cm and likewise showed no grain-size dependence. The electron contribution to room-temperature thermal conductivity was estimated to be approximately 58-68% of total thermal conductivity as estimated using the Wiedemann-Franz law and the theoretical Lorenz number. The results indicated that processing-induced grain coarsening did not produce clearly resolvable transport-property changes under the conditions investigated leading to the conclusion that intrinsic disorder and defect chemistry may exert stronger influences on properties.
ER -