Advanced Science, 2026; 0:e76536

Keywords:energy absorption ,liquid metal ,origami metamaterials ,shape memory ,tunability

Mechanical metamaterials provide a promising platform for designing energy-absorbing materials. However, the trade-off betweenreusability and energy absorption quality limits the overall performance of existing energy-absorbing metamaterials. To addressthis challenge, an origami metamaterial based on the low-melting-point alloy phase transition is proposed in this study, constructedby integrating a low-melting-point alloy skeleton into an elastomeric shell. In terms of performance, the metamaterial achievesan energy absorption capacity of 41.5 kJ⋅m− 2 , a crushing force stability of 0.838, and a reusability ratio of 97.8%. This outstandingoverall performance stems from a multilevel synergistic design. At the material level, plastic deformation of the metal skeletonprovides high energy absorption. Meanwhile, the heat-induced solid–liquid phase transition of the low-melting-point alloy,together with the hyperelasticity of the elastomeric shell, enables high structural recoverability. At the unit-cell level, tailoring thegeometric parameters yields a stable force response, and the diamond origami configuration further enhances energy absorptionquality. At the multi-cell system level, eliminating deformation coupling between layers significantly enhances the deformationmode stability of multilayer metamaterials, thereby extending the effective compression stroke. Overall, the metamaterialsimultaneously achieves high-quality energy absorption and high reusability, showing great potential for engineering applicationsthat require repeated energy absorption.

Yupeng Liu, Wei Zhao, Chengjun Zeng, Jiuming Fan, Yanju Liu, Jinsong Leng

Origami Metamaterials Based on Low‐Melting‐Point Alloy Phase Transition  Breaking the Trade-Off Between Reusability and Energy Absorption Quality.pdf