Solid-State Thermal Memory of Temperature-Responsive Polymer Induced by Hydrogen Bonds

Memory is an essential element for a computer to process information, which is integrated by logical circuits. Like electronic computing, thermal information can also be stored and read out by a thermal memory. Here, we show that a phase-changing polymer with hysteretic thermal transport properties can be experimentally processed into thermal memories at room temperature. We used a temperature-responsive and reversible polymer synthesized with melamine (M) and 6,7-dimethoxy-2,4[1H,3H]-quinazolinedione (Q) as a model system to demonstrate the manipulation of thermal transport at a molecular level. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicate that this hysteretic behavior is based on the interaction of hydrogen bonds at high (317 K) and low (297 K) temperatures. This work demonstrates a controllable phonon transport process through the manipulation of hydrogen bonds, and thus it has potential applications in thermal memories.