Crystalline, superelastic materials typically exhibit large recoverable strains due to the ability of the material to undergo a reversible phase transition between martensite and austenite phases. Applicable to various alloys, ceramics and intermetallic compounds, this reversible transition serves as a general mechanism for superelasticity and shape memory effect. Recently, we noticed that ThCr2Si2-structured intermetallic compounds exhibit a reversible phase transition between a tetragonal (or orthorhombic) phase to a collapsed tetragonal phase under compression along c-axis of the unit cell by making and breaking Si-Si type bonds. This process has nothing to do with martensitic transformation. This unique reversible phase transformation process motivated us to investigate their potential as a superelastic and shape memory material.
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