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Updated: Dec 25, 2025

Assembly and Characterization of Biomolecular Memristors Consisting of Ion Channel-doped Lipid Membranes
Published on: March 9, 2019
Charge disproportionate molecular redox for discrete memristive and memcapacitive switching
Sreetosh Goswami1,2, Santi P Rath3, Damien Thompson4
1NUSNNI-NanoCore, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore. sreetosh@u.nus.edu.
Abstract:
Electronic symmetry breaking by charge disproportionation results in multifaceted changes in the electronic, magnetic and optical properties of a material, triggering ferroelectricity, metal/insulator transition and colossal magnetoresistance. Yet, charge disproportionation lacks technological relevance because it occurs only under specific physical conditions of high or low temperature or high pressure. Here we demonstrate a voltage-triggered charge disproportionation in thin molecular films of a metal-organic complex occurring in ambient conditions. This provides a technologically relevant molecular route for simultaneous realization of a ternary memristor and a binary memcapacitor, scalable down to a device area of 60 nm2. Supported by mathematical modelling, our results establish that multiple memristive states can be functionally non-volatile, yet discrete-a combination perceived as theoretically prohibited. Our device could be used as a binary or ternary memristor, a binary memcapacitor or both concomitantly, and unlike the existing 'continuous state' memristors, its discrete states are optimal for high-density, ultra-low-energy digital computing.
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