金属材料强度与塑性的协同提升始终是材料科学领域的核心挑战。由于材料的强度和塑性受位错可动性制约，2者通常难以协同兼顾，多主元合金(高熵合金)的出现为走出这一困境提供了新思路。相对于常规的固溶强化合金，多主元合金具有更大的晶格畸变，位错运动需要克服更高和更频繁的能量起伏，耗费更大的能量，合金流变应力随应变增加而增加，使得一些合金获得了较大加工硬化能力和强塑性协同提升。然而，该领域至少存在2个关键科学问题需要深入研究：(1) 多主元合金是完全理想的随机混合结构吗？是否需要规范其局域乃至多级微观结构来实现优异性能？(2) 如何规范和调控多主元合金微观结构？本文从规范和调控多主元合金微观结构出发，提出用负混合焓(负焓)合金化方法在原子尺度加工合金微观结构的学术思想，系统阐述利用负焓合金化方法实现合金强度与塑性协同提升，并揭示强韧化新机理。负焓合金化具有金属材料微观结构调控的3重效应：键能与慢扩散效应、局部化学有序效应、界面和尺寸效应，其为高强韧金属材料的微观结构在原子尺度设计加工提供了新维度和新范式。

Achieving a synergistic improvement in the strength and ductility of metallic materials has long been a central challenge in materials science. Dislocation mobility limits both properties, making it difficult to strike a balance between them. The advent of multi-principal element alloys (also known as high-entropy alloys) offers a promising solution to this issue. Compared with conventional solid solution strengthened alloys, multi-principal element alloys exhibit greater lattice distortion. Consequently, dislocation movement must overcome higher and more frequent energy fluctuations, which consumes more energy. This increase in flow stress with increasing strain allows certain alloys to achieve enhanced work hardening capacity, leading to simultaneous improvements in both strength and ductility. However, two critical scientific questions in this area warrant further investigation: (1) Are multi-principal element alloys purely ideal random mixed structures, or is standardizing their local or multi-level microstructures necessary to achieve optimal performance? (2) How can we effectively standardize and regulate the microstructures of multi-principal element alloys? This study addresses these questions by proposing the concept of using negative mixing enthalpy (negative-enthalpy) alloying to standardize and regulate the microstructure of multi-principal element alloys. This study systematically explores how negative-enthalpy alloying can synergistically enhance strength and ductility while revealing new mechanisms of strengthening and toughening. Negative-enthalpy alloying affects the microstructure of metallic materials through three main effects: bond energy and slow diffusion, local chemical ordering, and interface and size effects. This approach provides a novel framework for designing and processing the microstructures of high-strength, high-ductility metallic materials at the atomic scale.