High entropy alloys (HEAs) are promising electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) materials due to its designable crystal structure, variable electromagnetic properties, and excellent corrosion resistance. However, the impedance mismatch owing to the high electric and dielectric conductivity severely hinders the application of HEAs in the field of EMA. Herein, the lattice distortion of FeCoNiCu HEA is manipulated accurately by doping and annealing strategies to tailor the EMA properties. Significant lattice distortion is observed in the FeCoNiCuC0.37, which leads to a decrease in the electrical conductivity and the creation of abundant dipoles. Owing to the optimal impedance matching and boosted polarization loss, the FeCoNiCuC0.37 delivers a minimal reflection loss of -65.4 dB accompanied by an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 6.81 GHz. After annealing at 200 degrees C, the EAB of the FeCoNiCuC0.37 is further increased to 7.99 GHz at 1.95 mm, which is better than that of most HEA-based EMA absorbers reported so far. Moreover, it demonstrates excellent corrosion resistance owing to the more tortuous diffusion path of corrosive medium origin from lattice distortion. Thus, the study provides a new insight into designing high performance HEA-based EMA materials with superior anti-corrosion property by lattice distortion engineering.

The novel design for high-entropy alloy absorbers with severe lattice distortion has the benefit for the electromagnetic wave absorption. The results show that FeCoNiCuC0.37 has an effective absorption bandwith of 6.81 GHz and the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -65.8 dB. After annealing at 200 degrees C, the EAB of FeCoNiCuC0.37 is broadened to 7.99 GHz at 1.95 mm.