Materials design with target-oriented Bayesian optimization

Abstract Materials design using Bayesian optimization (BO) typically focuses on optimizing materials properties by estimating the maxima/minima of unknown functions. However, materials often possess good properties at specific values or show effective response under certain conditions. We propose a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yuan Tian, Tongtong Li, Jianbo Pang, Yumei Zhou, Dezhen Xue, Xiangdong Ding, Turab Lookman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:npj Computational Materials
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-025-01704-4
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Summary:Abstract Materials design using Bayesian optimization (BO) typically focuses on optimizing materials properties by estimating the maxima/minima of unknown functions. However, materials often possess good properties at specific values or show effective response under certain conditions. We propose a target-oriented BO to efficiently suggest materials with target-specific properties. The method samples potential candidates by allowing their properties to approach the target value from either above or below, minimizing experimental iterations. We compare the performance of target-oriented BO with that of other BO methods on synthetic functions and materials databases. The average results from hundreds of repeated trials demonstrate target-oriented BO requires fewer experimental iterations to reach the same target, especially when the training dataset is small. We further employ the method to discover a thermally-responsive shape memory alloy Ti0.20Ni0.36Cu0.12Hf0.24Zr0.08 with a transformation temperature difference of only 2.66 °C (0.58% of the range) from the target temperature in 3 experimental iterations. Our method provides a solution tailored for optimizing target-specific properties, facilitating the accelerated development of materials with predefined properties.
ISSN:2057-3960