1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of HongKong, HongKong 999077, China
2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of HongKong,HongKong 999077, China
Intermetallic compounds possess unique properties between metals and ceramics due to their long-range ordered arrangement of atoms and strong interatomic bonding, especially, the recently emerged chemically complex intermetallic compounds have made remarkable breakthroughs in structural and functional properties and gained wide attention. These chemically complex intermetallic compounds have great potential to exhibit extraordinary properties and performance beyond conventional intermetallic compounds due to the synergistic modulation of the ordered superlattice structure and the chemical properties of multiple elements. This paper summarizes the crystal structure, material design, manufacturing process, and various aspects of properties of chemically complex intermetallic compounds, focusing on the elemental occupancy preference, sublattice high entropy effect, and grain boundary nanoscale disordering involved in the material design, and gives an overview of the recent advances in the advanced manufacturing process,structural and functional properties of this new type of intermetallic compound materials. Finally, the future development of chemically complex intermetallic compounds is envisioned.