A Biodegradable Radical Polymer Enables High-Performance, Physically Transient Organic Memory

Electronic devices often demand high reliability and longevity, but they also contribute significantly to electronic waste. Physically transient electronics have thus emerged as a promising alternative in future electronics, particularly in wearable and implantable bioelectronics. In these applications, memristive materials have gained significant attention for their potential to realize neuromorphic systems that offer energy-efficient, hardware-based parallel processing. By integrating memristive capabilities with transient behavior, this study bridges these two cutting-edge fields, creating materials that not only enable advanced computing but also dissociate sustainably. Additionally, we leverage the unique features of soft materials for their tunability, biocompatibility, and cost-effectiveness, which collectively enhance this integration. In this work, we first illustrate molecular engineering strategy on a radical polymer. We then proceed to two-terminal devices therefrom, which exhibit exceptional memory performance of >10⁶ on/off ratio, >10⁴ s state retention, and stability over 250 DC sweep cycles. A flexible, optically transparent, and physically transient crossbar arrays are also developed, which maintain the performance through >3,000 bending cycles and fully dissociate in water at room temperature. This work represents an advancement toward a biorealistic platform with substantial multifunctionality, making it readily translatable to future wearable and implantable neuromorphic devices.