Reactive flash sintering and electrical transport properties of high-entropy (MgCoNiCuZn)_1-xLi_xO oxides

In this paper, high-entropy (MgCoNiCuZn)_1-xLi_xO oxides (x = 0, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, and 0.3) were synthesized via reactive flash sintering (RFS), and the effect of RFS process on the microstructure and electrical property of the materials were studied. The Li-doped materials exhibited a mixed ionic–electronic transport behavior. The oxidation of Co²⁺ into Co³⁺ upon Li incorporation into the materials synthesized via the conventional solid-state reaction route was not evidenced in the flash sintered materials. Instead, the charge unbalance in the Li-doped materials synthesized via RFS was compensated by oxygen vacancies and holes in the valence band of the oxides, which were accounted for the ionic conduction and electronic conduction, respectively. The ionic conductivity increased upon increasing the Li concentration as more oxygen vacancies were formed. The attraction between defects with different charges (Li_M^/ and V_O^••), which formed defect complexes, led to a decrease in the mobility of the defects, thus resulting in a less pronounced increase in the ionic conductivity at high Li concentrations. The change in the charge compensation mechanism of the materials indicates that the microstructure of such kind of oxides could be altered through RFS, and thus the property may be manipulated.