Mechano-Gated Nanofluidic Piezomemristor: Elastic Nanochannel Bridging Dynamic Pressure Modulation and Neuromorphic Plasticity

Nanofluidic memristors have become a hotspot in neuromorphic computing research due to their potential in modeling biological synaptic functions. However, many existing nanofluidic memristors rely on electrochemical or electric field-driven mechanisms, failing to directly mimic the properties of mechanically gated ion channels (e.g., PIEZO2 channels) that contribute to mechanical-electrical coupling in certain types of biological neurons. Inspired by mechanically sensitive PIEZO2 channels, a mechano-gated iontronic piezomemristor based on the elastic deformation of PDMS membranes was developed in this study to realize mechanically gated ionic conduction by regulating the opening and closing of nanopores through pressure. Unlike conventional methods, this design achieves very high switching ratios (more than 10⁸) through reversible pressure-induced nanopore opening and closing, provides a wider dynamic range of conductance, and exhibits pressure-dependent synaptic plasticity such as double-pulse facilitation (PPF) versus double-pulse depression (PPD) as well as a long-time response phenomenon. This study fills the gap between artificial nanofluidic systems and biomechanical signaling, and provides a biomimetic new idea for the development of adaptive neuromorphic devices with high energy efficiency and biocompatibility.