Pressure-induced magnetic moment suppression in CoCrFeMnNi

High entropy alloys (HEAs) consist of multiple transition metal species with close to equimolar concentration, yet they still exhibit a strong tendency to form solid solutions with high symmetry cubic structure. The presence of cubic structures has been associated with the distribution of the atomic magnetic moment, leading to stabilization relative to lower symmetry structures. Application of hydrostatic pressure has been shown to promote a transition from cubic to hexagonal structure in the CoCrFeMnNi alloy, which in turn has been proposed to be related to the pressure-induced magnetic moment suppression and a resulting destabilization of the cubic phase. We propose to measure the suppression of atomic magnetic moments with increasing hydrostatic pressure in CoCrFeMnNi using XMCD, and correlate this with structural changes. This will increase our understanding of phase stability and selection in HEAs.