Superelastic materials (crystal-to-crystal transformation pseudo elasticity) that consist of organic components have not been observed since superelasticity was discovered in a Au-Cd alloy in 1932. Superelastic materials have been exclusively developed in metallic or inorganic covalent solids, as represented by Ti-Ni alloys. Organosuperelasticity is now revealed in a pure organic crystal of terephthalamide, which precisely produces a large motion with high repetition and high energy storage efficiency. This process is driven by a small shear stress owing to the low density of strain energy related to the low lattice energy.

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An organoionic crystal of tetrabutyl-n-phosphonium tetraphenylborate thermally recovers its shape through superelasticity, similar to shape-memory alloys.

Simple rubredoxin model complexes with o-(acylamino)benzenethiolato and 2,6-(diacylamino)benzenethiolato were synthesized and characterized by (1)H NMR, IR, and electrochemical properties. The structures of (NEt(4))(2)[Fe(II)(S-o-t-BuCONHC(6)H(4))(4)].2EtCN (3a), (NEt(4))(2)[Co(II)(S-o-t-BuCONHC(6)H(4))(4)].2EtCN (3b), and (PPh(4))(2)[Co(II){S-2,6-(CF(3)CONH)(2)C(6)H(3)}(4)].Et(2)O (5b') were determined by X-ray analysis. The complexes have intramolecular single or double NH.S hydrogen bonds. The mean Fe-S and Co-S distances are significantly shorter than those of non-hydrogen-bonding complexes, [M(SPh)(4)](2-) (M = Fe(II), Co(II)), by 0.024 Å (3a), 0.032 Å (3b), and 0.029 Å (5b'), respectively. (NMe(4))(2)[Fe(II)(S-o-CH(3)CONHC(6)H(4))(4)] (2a) and (NMe(4))(2)[Fe(II){S-2,6-(CH(3)CONH)(2)C(6)H(3)}(4)] (6a) have remarkably positive shifted Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couples by the single and double NH.S hydrogen bond, respectively. The shifts are +0.25 for 2a and +0.56 for 6a from the redox potential of [Fe(II)(SPh)(4)](2-), which indicate additivity of the effect of the NH.S hydrogen bond. The formation and the structure of a novel chelating amido(thiolato) complex (PPh(4))(2)[Co(II){S-2,6-(CF(3)CONH)(2)C(6)H(3)}(2)(S-2-CF(3)CONH-6-CF(3)CONC(6)H(3))].Et(2)O (9) are also described.

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.

Ferroelasticity has been relatively well-studied in mechanically robust inorganic atomic solids but poorly investigated in organic crystals, which are typically inherently fragile. The absence of precise methods for the mechanical analysis of small crystals has, no doubt, impeded research on organic ferroelasticity. The first example of ferroelasticity in an organic molecular crystal of 5-chloro-2-nitroaniline is presented, with thorough characterization by macro- and microscopic methods. The observed cyclic stress-strain curve satisfies the requirements of ferroelasticity. Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis provides insight into lattice correspondence at the twining interface, which enables substantial crystal bending by a large molecular orientational shift. This deformation represents the highest maximum strain (115.9 %) among reported twinning materials, and the associated dissipated energy density of 216 kJ m is relatively large, which suggests that this material is potentially useful as a mechanical damping agent.

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Muscle Type I collagen of five teleosts was characterized with respect to its thermal stability and subunit composition. The muscle collagen exhibited a higher denaturation temperature, Td, in solution and a higher degree of proline hydroxylation, compared with skin Type I collagen of the respective species. Moreover, the Td values seemed to increase with the increasing upper limit of environmental temperature of fish habitats. The subunit composition also varied with fish species; an ala2a3 heterotrimer existed in eel and common mackerel and an (cxl),(w2 heterotrimer in saury, while (al&2 and (Y~&cY~ heterotrimers appeared to be major and minor components, respectively, in chum salmon and carp.