Superelastic Shape Recovery of Mechanically Twinned 3,5-Difluorobenzoic Acid Crystals

Generally, superelastic behavior cannot be expected in mechanically twinned crystals because there is essentially no strain on the interface that is a driving force for spontaneous shape recovery. However, we found that single crystals of 3,5‐difluorobenzoic acid are superelastic organic crystals under mechanical twinning. The unexpected shape recovery can be explained by molecular distortion on the twinning interface, which suggests a new mechanism for superelasticity in molecular materials. Organosuperelasticity is observed in single crystals of 3,5‐difluorobenzoic acid. This elasticity is due to the molecular distortion on the twinning interface, suggesting a new mechanism for superelasticity in molecular materials.