The use of high-energy shock wave treatment as pre-activation of sintering high-entropy solid solutions of transition metal borides and carbides

Synthesis of solid solutions of transition metal borides (NbB₂, TaB₂, HfB₂ and ZrB₂) and carbides (NbC, TaC, HfC, ZrC and VC) was carried out via sintering the individual components without applying pressure. To activate the interaction of the components, the initial powders were processed by high-energy shock wave treatment (HESWT). HESWT enables the formation of homogeneous solid solution for a mixture of carbides; however, this method did not give the desired results for a mixture of transition metal borides, likely due to the higher strength of borides crystal lattice in comparison with carbides.