The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

The human brain implements adaptive information processing through gradual memory decay. This phenomenon can be emulated in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) via ion back-diffusion-induced conductance attenuation. However, prior OECT-based artificial synapses have been limited to phenomenological demonstrations of synaptic behavior on restricted timescales due to doping state lifetime limitations. In this study, we introduce a backbone glycolation strategy that enhances molecular flexibility and promotes strong ion trapping, thereby substantially extending the persistence of the doped state. Consequently, we successfully implement an artificial synapse that closely follows the Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve on a timescale reaching 10⁵ seconds, directly demonstrating human-like memory decay dynamics. These results establish the potential of backbone glycolation as a key design principle for implementing neuromorphic devices with human-like temporal memory dynamics.