High entropy materials for solid oxide cells

Solid oxide cells (SOCs) are regarded as one of the vital ways to promote a low-carbon and green revolution in the energy sector. Due to their characteristics of clean, low-cost, and high-efficiency, SOCs show great potential within the realm of energy conversion and storage. However, SOCs still suffer from the lack of long-term operational stability of the cell system, the high cost of the materials required under high-temperature operating conditions, and the insufficient catalytic effect in low-temperature environments. These problems seriously restrict the further development of SOC technology. Recently, the unique atomic arrangement and the four core effects (high mixed entropy stabilization effect, sluggish diffusion effect, lattice distortion effect, and “cocktail” effect) of high-entropy materials (HEMs) enable them to demonstrate excellent performance and possess wide application prospects in catalytic reactions, energy storage, supercapacitors, and other fields. HEMs provide a new perspective and possibility to solve the above problems in the field of SOCs. The primary aim of this comprehensive review article is to summarize the applications of HEMs within the three fundamental components of SOCs: electrodes, electrolytes, and interconnects. The contributions of HEMs in the catalytic activity, conductivity, and resistance to harmful gas poisoning of SOCs are described. In addition, this paper proposes the possible development directions of HEMs in SOCs based on the current research progress, which provides a meaningful reference for high-entropy designs aimed at further enhancing the performance of SOCs.