Metal-organic framework and MXene (ZIF-8:Ti3C2Tx) based organic and inorganic nanocomposite for bio-synaptic applications

Abstract

Organic and inorganic hybrid materials have drawn more interest in the field of electronic devices. The metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as one of the promising hybrid materials for electronic devices. However, their limited electrical conductivity hinders their electronic applications. To overcome these shortcomings, we synthesized MOF:MXene nanocomposite to enhance the stability and electrical conductivity of MOF. In particular, we synthesized and characterized zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8):MXene (Ti3C2Tx) hybrid nanocomposite. From the application point of view, we demonstrated the analog memory effect and mimicked various synaptic learning functionalities using Ag/ZIF-8:Ti3C2Tx/FTO resistive switching (RS) device. The fabricated device exhibits a good analog-type bipolar RS effect. The device mimics various bio-synaptic properties such as potentiation, depression, excitatory-post synaptic current, and paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) index (%). The inherent non-ideal memristor property was dominated in the device, owing to the double-valued charge-flux relation. The conduction and possible RS mechanisms of the Ag/ZIF-8:Ti3C2Tx/FTO device were reported. These results suggested that the ZIF-8:Ti3C2Tx nanocomposite is a potential nanomaterial for brain-inspired computing applications.