A Directional Tensile Superelasticity in Ceramic Crystal via Reversible Shuffle Twinning | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A Directional Tensile Superelasticity in Ceramic Crystal via Reversible Shuffle Twinning Anmin Nie, Chong Wang, Zeya Li, Yingchun Cheng, Xiao-ji Weng, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4893450/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Nanotechnology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Superelasticity, being a reversible nonlinear strain response to stress stimuli beyond the linear elastic regime, is always associated with phase transformations in its host materials, mostly metals or polymers. Theoretical rationale indicates that inorganic materials with covalent/ionic bonding normally have large energy barriers for reversible structural transitions and thus host less opportunity to achieve superelasticity. Here, we demonstrate a directional tensile superelasticity in ceramic crystal GeSe through an unconventional reversible shuffle twinning mechanism instead of martensitic phase transition. We observed, with in-situ mechanical transmission electron microscopy, an evolution in stress‒strain curve from the linear elastic behavior to a nonlinear superelastic plateau, and confirmed that such superelasticity appears simultaneously together with the generation of stripy-shaped twin domains along orientation. Theoretical calculations revealed that the shuffle twinning process from “Z-shaped” to “anti-Z-shaped” bond-configuration leads to the release of elastic potential energy, being responsible for the emergence of tensile superelasticity therein. Note that such a highly-directional superelasticity prefers to emerge at angles near the zigzag direction owing to the anisotropic Young's modulus in GeSe, and has never been reported in superelastic materials. Our observation provides a novel strategy to exploit tensile superelasticity and nonlinear mechanics for advanced mechanical and flexible electronics. Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Mechanical properties Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale materials/Two-dimensional materials Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files 3SupplementaryInformationGeSeSuperelasticity0715.docx SupplementaryVideo1.mp4 Supplementary Video 1 SupplementaryVideo2.mp4 Supplementary Video 2 SupplementaryVideo3.mp4 Supplementary Video 3 SupplementaryVideo4.mp4 Supplementary Video 4 SupplementaryVideo5.mp4 Supplementary Video 5 SupplementaryVideo6.mp4 Supplementary Video 6 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Nanotechnology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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