Multi-component alloys containing 5 and 6 platinum group metals have been prepared by thermal decomposition of single-source precursors. It is the first successful example of high-entropy alloy preparation not requiring direct melting at high temperature or mechanical alloying, and can be further extended to other multicomponent metallic systems. Our single-source precursor strategy for the preparation of multicomponent alloys can be considered as a new approach in the design and optimization of refractory high-entropy alloys for a broad range of applications. Thermal decomposition occurs at low temperatures (below 800°C in H2 flow). The resulting hexagonal Ir0.19Os0.22Re0.21Rh0.20Ru0.19 alloy is the first example of a single-phase hexagonal high-entropy alloy. Heat treatment does not result in any phase changes up to 1500 K, which is a record temperature stability for a single-phase high-entropy alloy. Room temperature hydrostatic compression up to 45 GPa also highlights the system's stability as a single phase, with a bulk modulus smaller then individual platinum group metals (except Rh). The prepared alloys show pronounced electrocatalytic activity in methanol oxidation, which opens a route for the use of highentropy alloys as materials for sustainable energy conversion.

Despite its excellent elemental properties, lightweight nature and good alloying potential, scandium has received relatively little attention in the manufacturing community. The abundance of scandium in the Earth's crust is quite high. It is more abundant than silver, cobalt, lead and tin. But, because scandium is so well dispersed in the lithosphere, it is notoriously difficult to extract in commercial quantities-hence low market availability and high cost. Scandium metallurgy is still a largely unexplored field-but progress is being made. This review aims to summarise advances in scandium metallurgical research over the last decade. The use of scandium as a conventional minor addition to alloys, largely in structural applications, is described. Also, more futuristic functional applications are discussed where details of crystal structures and peculiar symmetries are often of major importance. This review also includes data obtained from more obscure sources (especially Russian publications) which are much less accessible to the wider community. It is clear that more fundamental research is required to elevate the status of scandium from a laboratorybased curiosity to a mainstream alloying element. This is largely uncharted territory. There is much to be discovered.

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The formation of the hcp-Ir 0.70 Re 0.30 alloy from the single-source precursor (NH 4) 2 [Ir 0.70 Re 0.30 Cl 6 ] upon heating in hydrogen atmosphere can be associated with the formation of two intermediates: a crystalline iridium-based intermediate and an fccstructured alloy. Ir-Re alloys show lower thermal expansion coefficients and smaller compressibility in comparison with individual metals. The high-temperature highpressure treatment of hcp-Ir 0.70 Re 0.30 alloy enable us to probe the Ir-Re pressure dependent phase diagram. The miscibility gap between hcp and fcc alloys slightly shifts towards the rhenium side below 4 GPa. Above 4 GPa, the miscibility gap does not drift with pressure and narrows with compression. The electrocatalytic activity of Ir-Re alloys has been tested for methanol oxidation in acidic water solution. Ir-Re alloys show higher electrocatalytic activity in comparison with pure Ir and Re, which makes them perspective candidates for fuel cells application. The highest electrocatalytic activity has been obtained for the two-phase Ir 0.85 Re 0.15 composition.

Two different high-pressure and -temperature synthetic routes have been used to produce only the second-known pentavalent CaIrO3-type oxide. Postperovskite NaOsO3 has been prepared from GdFeO3-type perovskite NaOsO3 at 16 GPa and 1135 K. Furthermore, it has also been synthesized at the considerably lower pressure of 6 GPa and 1100 K from a precursor of hexavalent Na2OsO4 and nominally pentavalent KSbO3-like phases. The latter synthetic pathway offers a new lower-pressure route to the postperovskite form, one that completely foregoes any perovskite precursor or intermediate. This work suggests that postperovskite can be obtained in other compounds and chemistries where generalized rules based on the perovskite structure may not apply or where no perovskite is known. One more obvious consequence of our second route is that perovskite formation may even mask and hinder other less extreme chemical pathways to postperovskite phases.