| Abstract Scope |
High-entropy alloys provide a representative class of structural materials in which pronounced differences in atomic size, electronic structure, and bonding preference generate complex chemical heterogeneity at the sub-nanometer scale. Chemical short-range order (CSRO) and atomic-scale compositional fluctuations introduce heterogeneous local energy landscapes that strongly influence defect migration, recombination, and irradiation-induced microstructural evolution. In this work, we combine advanced aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy with multiscale simulations to establish a real-space and atomistic framework for analyzing how CSRO regulates defect evolution in high-entropy alloys. High-resolution electron microscopy provides direct experimental constraints on local chemical ordering, defect configurations, and irradiation-induced microstructures, while atomistic simulations reveal how heterogeneous elemental distributions modify the diffusion pathways and migration energy barriers of vacancies and self-interstitial atoms. The combined results show that local chemical heterogeneity promotes preferential defect migration along energetically favorable pathways, enhances defect recombination, and suppresses the accumulation of residual irradiation defects such as voids. |