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

ABSTRACT Mechanical metamaterials provide a promising platform for designing energy‐absorbing materials. However, the trade‐off between reusability and energy absorption quality limits the overall performance of existing energy‐absorbing metamaterials. To address this challenge, an origami metamaterial based on the low‐melting‐point alloy phase transition is proposed in this study, constructed by integrating a low‐melting‐point alloy skeleton into an elastomeric shell. In terms of performance, the metamaterial achieves an energy absorption capacity of 41.5 kJ·m ^{− 2} , a crushing force stability of 0.838, and a reusability ratio of 97.8%. This outstanding overall performance stems from a multilevel synergistic design. At the material level, plastic deformation of the metal skeleton provides 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 the geometric parameters yields a stable force response, and the diamond origami configuration further enhances energy absorption quality. At the multi‐cell system level, eliminating deformation coupling between layers significantly enhances the deformation mode stability of multilayer metamaterials, thereby extending the effective compression stroke. Overall, the metamaterial simultaneously achieves high‐quality energy absorption and high reusability, showing great potential for engineering applications that require repeated energy absorption.