Achieving strength–ductility trade-off of brittle soft magnetic multi-principal element alloy via metastability engineering

Soft magnetic multi-principal element alloys (SMMPEAs) are emerging as promising materials for magnetic components in electrical applications and sustainable energy supply. However, achieving both excellent mechanical properties and soft magnetic properties remains a challenge for SMMPEAs. Here, the “metastability engineering” strategy is exploited in SMMPEAs to overcome the strength–ductility trade-off via the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP). The designed alloy has a tensile strength of 1.65 GPa at 15% tensile elongation, saturation magnetization of 131 emu/g, coercivity of 12.5 Oe, and electrical resistivity of 116 μΩ cm. The results herein provide an effective paradigm for developing metastable SMMPEAs with TRIP for an enhanced strength–ductility synergy, paving the way for their application of high-performance magnetic components.