Crystallography of a new Mn(V,Ti,Al)2O4 compositionally complex spinel oxide in a BCC compositionally complex alloy

Abstract

The concept of compositionally complex alloy (CCA) has recently been applied in developing compositionally complex oxide (CCO). In this contribution, we discovered a new CCO with a spinel structure that is embedded in a new body-centered cubic CCA matrix. The crystal structure of the newly found CCO is characterized by neutron diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the chemical formula of the new CCO is Mn(V,Ti,Al)2O4, where the Mn atoms occupy the tetrahedral position while the V, Ti and Al atoms share the octahedral sites. The elements that take the octahedral sites are interchangeable. The mechanical behavior was characterized by nano-indentation experiments and the localized strength of CCA is effectively promoted with the existence of CCO. The present work illustrates that the combination of new CCO with new CCA matrix could be a new strategy to develop new oxide-metal composites.