Strategical design and synthesis of D–A–D-based quinolines for improved WORM memory performance

Abstract

A series of D–A–D architectured molecules with quinoline as the central core and triarylamines (TAAs) at both terminals were synthesized and studied for their memory performance. The photophysical studies exhibited intramolecular charge transfer and the electrochemical studies gave a band gap of 2.63–2.98 eV. The different terminal groups in the D–A–D molecules tend to influence the performance of the memory devices and are explained through photophysical, electrochemical, morphological, and memory characterizations of the compounds. All the compounds were assigned to have a non-volatile WORM memory behavior with long-lasting retention and endurance cycles. The electron-donating terminals gave the highest on/off ratio (10⁴) and lowest threshold voltage (−1.10 V) owing to the balance of charge transport within the D–A–D system. The charge transfer along with the charge trap in the compounds vindicates the mechanism for these memory devices. The feasible synthetic routes with the efficient memory performance of these D–A–D compounds make them superior ones in the field of organic electronics.