Manufacturing unconventional alloys remains challenging owing to the seamless interplay between kinetics and thermodynamics. High-entropy alloys (HEAs), for example, enable paradigm shifts in materials science but these shifts are hindered by traditional liquid-solid transformations. In contrast, vapor–crystal transformations offer the most kinetically efficient pathways to form alloys. Here, a well-mixed vapor is quenched to create 55 distinct alloys confined in nanoparticles (NPs), including unprecedented ones. This confinement is found to stabilize their alloyed states. Unlike precursor feeding, a microseconds-long oscillatory spark mixes the vapors and determines the composition of the alloy NPs. To epitomize practicalities, we apply the NPs as integral building blocks for high-performance catalysts and to nanoscale additive manufacturing. The resulting HEA nanostructures cannot be fabricated by other additive manufacturing techniques. The present work breaks the miscibility limits, thereby providing a powerful roadmap to uncharted territories in metallurgy, catalysis, and additive manufacturing.

由于动力学和热力学之间的无缝相互作用，制造非常规合金仍然具有挑战性。例如，高熵合金（HEA）可以使材料科学发生范式转换，但这些转换受到传统液固转换的阻碍。相反，汽相转变为形成合金提供了动力学上最有效的途径。在这里，充分混合的蒸气被淬火，生成55种不同的合金，被限制在纳米颗粒（NPs）中，包括前所未有的合金。发现该限制稳定了它们的合金态。与前驱物进料不同，微秒长的振荡火花将蒸气混合并确定合金NP的成分。为了体现实用性，我们将NP用作高性能催化剂和纳米级增材制造的不可或缺的组成部分。所得的HEA纳米结构无法通过其他增材制造技术来制造。目前的工作打破了混溶性的限制，从而为冶金，催化和增材制造领域的未知领域提供了强有力的路线图。