Fluorinated Quinoxaline-Based Conjugated Polymers for High-Density Nonvolatile Memory Devices

Fluorinated materials have been widely utilized in optoelectronic devices. However, there has been a rare exploration of the use of fluorinated materials in polymer-based memory devices. To explore the impact of fluorinated acceptors on the storage capabilities of polymers, six donor–acceptor (D–A type) conjugated polymers were synthesized by using the Suzuki coupling reaction. Subsequently, polymers were utilized in the fabrication of basic sandwich-structured devices consisting of layers of indium–tin–oxide/polymer/aluminum (ITO/polymer/Al). Fluorinated polymers demonstrated significantly higher current switching ratios compared to non-fluorinated polymers. This increased ratio suggested an improved resolution in the readout, thus decreasing the probability of misinterpretation. It is imperative to emphasize that the poly[2-(2,3-bis(4-fluorophenyl)quinoxaline-5-yl)-9-(heptadecane-9-yl)-9H-carbazole] (PCzFQ) device exhibited exceptional performance, with an OFF:ON1:ON2 ratio as high as 1:101.8:104.7. This work supported the feasibility of introducing fluorine atoms into the acceptor unit to enhance the properties of memory devices, providing an available approach for synthesizing high-performance ternary memory materials.