High entropy van der Waals materials (Review article)

TL;DR

This review introduces high entropy van der Waals materials (HEX), a new class of 2D materials combining high entropy design with van der Waals structures, enabling exploration of diverse physical and chemical properties.

Contribution

It presents the concept, design strategies, and potential applications of HEX, integrating high entropy principles with van der Waals systems for the first time.

Findings

Successful discovery of high entropy dichalcogenides and related materials.

Rich compositional diversity enables study of superconductivity, magnetism, and metal-insulator transitions.

Design strategies improve catalytic performance in chemical reactions.

Abstract

By breaking the restrictions on traditional alloying strategy, the high entropy concept has promoted the exploration of the central area of phase space, thus broadening the horizon of alloy exploitation. This review highlights the marriage of the high entropy concept and van der Waals systems to form a new family of materials category, namely the high entropy van der Waals materials (HEX, HE = high entropy, X= anion clusters) and describe the current issues and next challenges. The design strategy for HEX has integrated the local feature (e.g., composition, spin, and valence states) of structural units in high entropy materials and the holistic degrees of freedom (e.g., stacking, twisting, and intercalating species) in van der Waals materials, and has been successfully employed for the discovery of high entropy dichalcogenides, phosphorus tri-chalcogenides, halogens, and MXene. The rich combination and random distribution of the multiple metallic constituents on the nearly-regular 2D lattice give rise to a flexible platform to study the correlation features behind a range of selected physical properties, e.g., superconductivity, magnetism, and metal-insulator transition. The deliberate design of structural units and their stacking configuration can also create novel catalysts to enhance their performance in a bunch of chemical reactions.