Biomaterial-Induced Stable Resistive Switching Mechanism in TiO Thin Films: The Role of Active Interstitial Sites/Ions in Minimum Current Leakage and Superior Bioactivity.

Leakage of current in oxide layers is the main issue for higher speed and denser resistive random-access memory. Defect engineering played a substantial role in meeting this challenge by doping or producing controlled interstitial defects or active sites. These controlled active sites enabled memory cells to form a stable and reproducible conduction filament following an electrochemical metallization model. In this study, a defect-abundant lime peel extract (LPE)-mediated anatase TiO thin film was fabricated using a simple hydrothermal route. The detailed structural and morphological analysis of the bioactive anatase TiO-LPE thin film reveals the homogeneous growth of TiO flowers and distinct features in terms of controlled defects as compared to simple anatase TiO. These interstitial defects (Ti and Ti) behave as active sites for cation migrations along highly conductive K ions because of the mediation of LPE. The defect-free surface reveals slight surface roughness (4.8 nm) that successfully minimizes leakage of current. The strategy enabled a reliable conductive bridge filament, which can replicate with no more electric degradation. The Ag/TiO-LPE/FTO-based memory cell demonstrates reproducible bipolar resistive switching along with a high ON/OFF ratio (>10), excellent endurance (1.5 × 10 cycles), and long-term retention (10 s) without any electrical degradation. Furthermore, green-synthesized TiO-LPE nanoparticles have shown superior antibacterial activity as compared to other green syntheses of different plants or fruits against the toxic microorganisms present in inorganic media.