Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking titanium-aluminum alloy that maintains superelasticity across an unprecedented temperature range, from -269°C to +127°C. This innovation could revolutionize ...

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The alloy's superelasticity across a wide temperature range makes it highly suitable for extreme environments such as deep space.

A Ti–Al-based shape-memory alloy adhering to the stringent criteria of lightness, functionality and extreme thermal fluctuation resistance is introduced, showing excellent superelasticity wi...

A compression-based, regenerative elastocaloric cooling device using low-transition-temperature tubular NiTi units in a cascaded configuration, which show superelasticity and substantial entropy changes, allows the construction of a sub-zero Celsius refrigeration system without refrigerant gases.

A Ti–Al-based shape-memory alloy adhering to the stringent criteria of lightness, functionality and extreme thermal fluctuation resistance is introduced, showing excellent superelasticity with a recoverable strain exceeding 7% and an ultra-wide temperature window from 4.2 K to 400 K.

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Aerogels are known for their high porosity and very low density and can be made from a range of materials, but are limited by structural instability under extreme thermomechanical conditions. We repor...

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 29 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41565-025-01912-5Nanoscale, covalently bonded GeSe crystals can withstand up to 12.8% recoverable tensile strain through an atomic mechanism called reversible shuffle twinning, giving rise to anisotropic superelasticity.

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 10 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41565-025-01902-7In situ mechanical testing and simulations unveil a reversible shuffle twinning mechanism enabled by bond switching, which gives rise to anisotropic tensile superelasticity in GeSe ceramics.

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NiTi shape memory alloys possess outstanding superelasticity and functional recoverability, but their widespread application is constrained by slow stabilization and fatigue accumulation during mechanical training, often requiring hundreds of cycles. In this work, we designed a high-stability NiTi composite by engineering grain-boundary chemistry and interface structure. Using low-energy ball milling followed by spark plasma sintering, a quaternary Ti–Ni–Si–C phase forms in situ and self-organizes into a continuous grid-like network along grain boundaries. This phase exhibits a semicoherent interface with the B2 NiTi matrix phase, featuring partial lattice matching and periodic misfit dislocations. As a result, the composite rapidly stabilizes after only five cycles and demonstrates linear superelasticity of 10,000 compression cycles at 2% strain, with progressively reduced hysteresis. Meanwhile, the introduction of the Ti–Ni–Si–C and TiC phases, along with refined Ni4Ti3 precipitates, doubles the hardness from ∼250 to ∼500 HV1. This interface-guided phase design provides a general strategy for developing NiTi-based materials with rapid training, enhanced fatigue resistance, and improved mechanical robustness for advanced actuation and structural applications.

With the rapid development of smart materials in civil engineering, shape memory alloys (SMAs) have gained widespread attention due to their unique superelasticity, excellent energy dissipation capacity, and reliable thermomechanical properties. Among various SMAs, NiTi alloy is the most commonly used type in structural engineering, especially in passive vibration control and seismic resistance. However, the mechanical behavior of NiTi SMAs under cyclic loading—an essential factor for their pr

A compression-based, regenerative elastocaloric cooling device using low-transition-temperature tubular NiTi units in a cascaded configuration, which show superelasticity and substantial entropy chang...

Theoretical modelling in combination with measurements of tension and shape in epithelial domes of controlled geometry reveals a plateau of tension in tissue that is maintained by heterogeneous strain...

Theoretical modelling in combination with measurements of tension and shape in epithelial domes of controlled geometry reveals a plateau of tension in tissue that is maintained by heterogeneous strain...

Researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU HK) have made significant strides in the field of biomedical engineering with the development of innovative artificial bone scaffolds made from nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloys. These scaffolds exhibit remarkable superelastic properties, showing deformation recovery capabilities between 6% to 7%. This performance exceeds that of natural bone, which typically recovers between 2% and 4%, and conventional metallic scaffolds, which register less than 1%.

In recent years, the advent of additive manufacturing has revolutionized material science and engineering by enabling the production of complex geometries, tailored properties, and unprecedented customization. Among the materials that have garnered immense research interest in this realm is nitinol, a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy renowned for its unique superelasticity, biocompatibility, and shape memory effects. The latest breakthrough announced by Rangaswamy, Chekotu, Gillick, and colleagues in…

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 07 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02119-yMartensitic transitions in organic crystals induce phenomena such as the thermosalient effect and superelasticity, which have potential applications in molecular devices, but the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. Here, the authors report on the spatio-temporal evolution of the phase front in the temperature-induced martensitic transition in 1,2,4,5-tetrabromobenzene crystals, showing that crystal viscosity is a crucial factor in the formation and propagation of the phase front during the transition.