Backbone‐Controlled Ion‐Side Chain Accessibility in Conjugated Polymers for Organic Electrochemical Synaptic Transistors

ABSTRACT Achieving stable and nonvolatile synaptic plasticity remains a central challenge for organic neuromorphic devices. While previous efforts have independently focused on backbone or side chain modifications, the fundamental role of conjugated backbone design in directing side chain–ion interaction has remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that modulation of thiophene units in the backbone governs the spatial arrangement and ionic accessibility of glycol side chains, thereby enabling strong anion adsorption and long‐term retention. Electrolyte‐gated organic synaptic transistors (EGOSTs) with extended backbones exhibit pronounced structural reorganization, suppressed ion back‐diffusion, and stable nonvolatile characteristics. As artificial synapses, the devices realize robust neuromorphic functions, including paired‐pulse facilitation, long‐term potentiation/depression, and achieves 89.34% accuracy in convolutional neural network simulations. This work establishes conjugated backbone regulation as a straightforward strategy for controlling side‐chain‐electrolyte contiguity, thereby proposing a novel design principle for nonvolatile synaptic devices and advancing the development of reliable organic neuromorphic computing.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-05-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.76051
Primary Topic
Advanced Memory and Neural Computing
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Backbone‐Controlled Ion‐Side Chain Accessibility in Conjugated Polymers for Organic Electrochemical Synaptic Transistors

Donghoo Won, Bumjoon Seo, Junho Sung, Byeongjun Jeon et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced Memory and Neural Computing
article

Backbone‐Controlled Ion‐Side Chain Accessibility in Conjugated Polymers for Organic Electrochemical Synaptic Transistors

Donghoo Won, Bumjoon Seo, Junho Sung, Byeongjun Jeon, M. An, Changduk Yang, Eunho Lee, Yoohyeon Jang, Jiyeong Shin, Sein Chung, Donghwa Lee
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Achieving stable and nonvolatile synaptic plasticity remains a central challenge for organic neuromorphic devices. While previous efforts have independently focused on backbone or side chain modifications, the fundamental role of conjugated backbone design in directing side chain–ion interaction has remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that modulation of thiophene units in the backbone governs the spatial arrangement and ionic accessibility of glycol side chains, thereby enabling strong anion adsorption and long‐term retention. Electrolyte‐gated organic synaptic transistors (EGOSTs) with extended backbones exhibit pronounced structural reorganization, suppressed ion back‐diffusion, and stable nonvolatile characteristics. As artificial synapses, the devices realize robust neuromorphic functions, including paired‐pulse facilitation, long‐term potentiation/depression, and achieves 89.34% accuracy in convolutional neural network simulations. This work establishes conjugated backbone regulation as a straightforward strategy for controlling side‐chain‐electrolyte contiguity, thereby proposing a novel design principle for nonvolatile synaptic devices and advancing the development of reliable organic neuromorphic computing.

Advanced Functional Materials
Seoul National University of Science and Technology (KR), Pohang University of Science and Technology (KR), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
National Research Foundation of Korea
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Advanced Memory and Neural Computing
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