Turning Ultra-Low Coercivity and Ultra-High Temperature Stability Within 897 K via Continuous Crystal Ordering Fluctuations

High-performance soft magnetic materials are important for energy conservation and emission reduction. One challenge is achieving a combination of reliable temperature stability, high resistivity, high Curie temperature, and high saturation magnetization in a single material, which often comes at the expense of intrinsic coercivity–a typical trade-off in the family of soft magnetic materials with homogeneous microstructures. Herein, a nanostructured FeCoNiSiAl complex concentrated alloy is developed through a hierarchical structure strategy. This alloy exhibits superior soft magnetic properties up to 897 K, maintaining an ultra-low intrinsic coercivity (13.6 A m⁻¹ at 297 K) over a wide temperature range, a high resistivity (138.08 µΩ cm⁻¹ at 297 K) and the saturation magnetization with only a 16.7% attenuation at 897 K. These unusual property combinations are attributed to the dual-magnetic-state nature with exchange softening due to continuous crystal ordering fluctuations at the atomic scale. By deliberately controlling the microstructure, the comprehensive performance of the alloy can be tuned and controlled. The research provides valuable guidance for the development of soft magnetic materials for high-temperature applications and expands the potential applications of related functional materials in the field of sustainable energy. © 2024 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.