Resistive Switching in Reduced Graphene Oxide Incorporated Polyvinyl Alcohol Films

Abstract

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoparticle incorporated thin films of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were spin coated on ITO coated glass substrates. I-V characteristics revealed resistive switching in these films. The ON/OFF switching ratio values varied with voltage sweep cycles. The largest switching ratios obtained were 8 orders between the high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS) and 7 orders for the LRS to HRS. In the LRS, the electrical conduction was initially space charge limited which turned to ohmic behavior that persisted till switching occurred to HRS. In the reverse voltage sweep, the conduction in HRS was initially ohmic, which then turned into a hopping type of conduction which persisted till switching occurred to the LRS. These conduction mechanisms in LRS and HRS are qualitatively different from that of pure rGO and other PVA composite films investigated earlier.