This article investigates the exponential synchronization (ES) of quaternion-valued neural networks (QVNNs) with time-varying delays. Global ES has been studied using matrix measure techniques. Due to the incompatibility of quaternion multiplication, the QVNN system is first separated into four real-valued systems. Then ES is established in the master-response systems of QVNN by constructing a state feedback controller. The stability criteria for the error system of QVNN is then provided using the existing lemmas and the Halanay inequality. Additionally, it is no longer assumed that the activation functions are differentiable, which make the analytical process more concise. The viability of our findings are demonstrated using two numerical examples. The present theoretical findings have been confirmed in the first case, while the second example includes the use of QVNNs connected to associative memory to demonstrate their ability to restore real color image patterns properly.