Effect of dilute rare-earth addition on structural evolution, mechanical, magnetic, and radiation shielding properties of CoFeNiMnTi high-entropy alloy

This study investigates the effect of 1 at.% rare-earth (RE = Sm, Gd, Dy) addition on the structural, mechanical, magnetic, and radiation shielding properties of CoFeNiMnTi high-entropy alloys produced by arc melting. X-ray diffraction results reveal an FCC-dominant structure accompanied by secondary Laves-type phases, with increased phase complexity observed in Gd- and Dy-containing alloys. Mechanical evaluation shows a significant hardness enhancement, reaching 581 HV for Gd and 548 HV for Dy, compared to 447 HV for the reference alloy. Magnetic measurements indicate soft-ferromagnetic behaviour for all compositions, with magnetization increasing in the order S0<S1<S2<S3, highlighting the strong influence of Dy on magnetic response. Elemental mapping confirms a homogeneous distribution with minor local compositional variations contributing to phase evolution. Thermodynamic analysis suggests that rare-earth addition increases lattice distortion and chemical complexity without strongly differentiating among RE types. In terms of radiation shielding, linear attenuation coefficients and effective atomic number values demonstrate improved gamma-ray attenuation, particularly at low energies, with Dy exhibiting the highest performance. In contrast, fast neutron removal cross section values remain nearly unchanged, indicating limited sensitivity to dilute RE addition. It can be concluded that the incorporation of Dy results in the most balanced multifunctional performance, whereas Gd primarily enhances mechanical strength, emphasizing the importance of rare-earth selection in the design of high-entropy alloys for radiation-related applications.