Organic–Inorganic Nanocomposite Film for High-Performance Stretchable Resistive Memory Device

A compatible organic/inorganic nanocomposite film for a stretchable resistive memory device with high performance is demonstrated using poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(propyl methacrylate) (P4VP-b-PPMA) with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle. The PPMA soft segment is designed for reducing the rigidity of the active layer, while the P4VP block serves as a charge-trapping component to induce conductive filament and also a compatible moiety for inorganic nanoparticles through hydrogen bonding. The experimental results show that the P4VP-b-PPMA-based electrical memory device exhibits write-once-read-many-times memory behavior and an excellent ON/OFF current ratio of over 10⁵ with a stable turn-on voltage (V_set) around −2.0 V and stable memory behavior upon stretching up to 60% strain. On the other hand, P4VP-b-PPMA/ZnO nanocomposite film switches the memory characteristic to the dynamic random access memory behavior. The stretchable memory device prepared from the nanocomposite film can have a stretching durability over 40% strain and up to 1000 times cycling stretch–relaxation test. This work demonstrates a new strategy using nanocomposite films with tunable electrical characteristics and enhanced mechanical properties for stretchable electrical devices.