Insensitivity of sp-bands protects the residual resistivity of CrMnFeCoNi from atomic short-range order

Abstract

Atomic short-range order (ASRO) in high-entropy alloys can alter observables such as the residual resistivity, ρ₀. Using ab initio concentration wave analysis, we determine the most likely ASRO in the Cantor alloy CrMnFeCoNi and compute ρ₀ for the predicted L1₀ and L1₂ orderings via the Kubo–Greenwood formalism as a function of a continuous atomic order parameter. ASRO raises ρ₀ by 3.4 % in the ferrimagnetic and 1.6 % in the paramagnetic phase, far less than the 32 µΩcm to 36 µΩcm gap between calculated and measured values. This insensitivity reflects Friedel screening, which confines the charge difference between consecutive 3d species almost entirely to the localized d-channel, leaving sp-states essentially unchanged. We expect this sp-band protection for single-row d-block alloys, including the Cantor–Wu series, and its breakdown once an sp-block element such as Al forces the contrast into the sp-channel, rendering ρ₀ sensitive to both composition and ordering.