Resistance-switchable conjugated polyrotaxane for flexible high-performance RRAMs

A representative closely packed conjugated polyrotaxane (CPR1) is synthesized by threading polyaniline (PAN) into β-cyclodextrin (CD) macrocycles and utilized for the first time to construct an RRAM device that exhibits an outstanding resistive switching capability. The CPR1 RRAM device displays remarkable nonvolatile memory performance with an extremely high ON/OFF ratio of 10⁸, the ultra-fast response of 29 ns, excellent reliability and reproducibility, and long-term stability (more than 1 year). The mechanism underlying this resistive switching behavior is understood according to the electric-field-induced proton doping of the PAN core by the CD sheath through hydrogen bonding interactions. More impressively, the favorable solubility and intrinsic flexibility of CPR1 allow for large-scale fabrication of flexible CPR1 RRAM device arrays by full-printing technology with endurance of 1000 bending cycles at the minimum bending radius of 3 mm, higher ON/OFF ratio of 10⁸, and relatively lower operating voltage of 1.8 V. This work shows the potential of CPR materials in highly stable memory devices for next-generation flexible and wearable electronics.