DFT-based machine-learning for the rational design of magnetocaloric high-entropy alloys

Abstract

The vast compositional space of high-entropy alloys (HEA) holds promise for next-generation functional materials, yet its exploration is stifled by a combinatorial bottleneck: conventional first-principles accuracy is computationally prohibitive for complex disordered lattices, while black-box machine learning (ML) lacks physical interpretability. We overcome this by establishing a minimal-supercell principle, demonstrating that the magnetostructural behaviour is an emergent feature of local atomic environments rather than long-range configurations. This enables a physics-informed ML framework that inverts the conventional screening approach, transitioning from limited local identification to global design-space mapping, reducing computational time by 40 – 60% without compromising accuracy. Applying this framework to MM’X family uncovers a fundamental design dichotomy: mean electronic descriptors govern baseline phase stability, while dispersion descriptors, specifically the magnetic-moment dispersion, drive the critical transformation response. This analysis reveals an intrinsic stability-performance trade-off, where the disorder required to maximise the transformation driving force inevitably penalises thermodynamic stability. By quantifying this Pareto frontier, we propose a hierarchical tuning strategy that decouples phase transition temperature from hysteresis, providing a scalable paradigm to transform HEA exploration from serendipitous discovery into rational design. Using a DFT + ML workflow to predict magnetocaloric high-entropy alloy compositions that links macroscopic and microscopic properties, this manuscript highlights actionable knobs to fine-tune the desired properties of experimentally obtained alloys.