Skoltech graduate student Vadim Sotskov, Associate Professor Alexander Shapeev from the Center for Artificial Intelligence, Associate Professor Alexander Kvashnin from the Skoltech Project Center for Energy Transition and their colleagues set up the synthesis of five—component carbide, a durable and refractory compound of carbon and five transition metals, which has prospects for application in industrial ceramics and catalysis. Based on fundamental theoretical principles, numerical modeling and machine learning, scientists have determined the conditions for the synthesis of single—phase carbide — the so-called state of matter where all metal atoms are evenly distributed over the volume of the crystal - and confirmed the accuracy of the prediction experimentally. At the same time, a promising vacuum-free electric arc synthesis method was used, which saves a significant amount of electricity.

Read more on Naked Science (RUS) и Phys.org (ENG).