Physical and Chemical Nature of Cemented Carbides
A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystalline Metals and Alloys".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: cemented carbides; microstructure of alloys
Interests: metals; Mg alloys; rare earth elements; microstructure characterization; mechanical property
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
High- and medium-entropy alloys (HEAs/MEAs) have emerged as promising multi-principal element systems due to their distinctive phase stability, enhanced mechanical performance, and excellent thermal resistance. Their integration into cemented carbides offers new opportunities to develop hard materials with improved toughness, wear resistance, and microstructural stability, addressing long-standing challenges in traditional WC-based composites.
This Special Issue aims to showcase recent progress in incorporating HEAs and MEAs into carbide matrices through advanced powder processing and sintering technologies—such as mechanical milling, spark plasma sintering (SPS), hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and conventional sintering. Emphasis is placed on understanding the resulting structural and microstructural evolution, densification behavior, and mechanical properties.
We welcome submissions focused on novel alloy compositions, processing–structure–property relationships, crystallographic analysis, and modeling approaches that support the design of next-generation hard materials. Contributions that bridge experimental and theoretical insights are particularly encouraged.
Dr. Marco Ruiz-Esparza-Rodríguez
Dr. Kai Guan
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- high-entropy alloys (HEAs)
- cemented carbides
- mechanical milling
- sintering techniques (SPS/HIP)
- microstructural characterization
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