Unraveling the Effect of the Water Content in the Electrolyte on the Resistive Switching Properties of Self-Assembled One-Dimensional Anodized TiO2 Nanotubes

The applied potential, time, and water content are crucial factors in the electrochemical anodization process because the growth of one-dimensional nanotubes can be accelerated by enhancing the corrosive effect. We investigated the effect of the water content on the resistive switching (RS) properties of Ti foils by anodizing the foils and varying the water content in an electrolyte (1-10 vol %). By increasing the water content, we facilitated a slow transition from nanopores to nanotubes and realized an increase in the tube wall diameter and tube length. All of the fabricated memristive devices exhibited a reliable and reproducible bipolar resistive switching effect. The optimized device exhibited bipolar RS properties with good dc endurance (10(4) cycles) and data retention capability (10(5) s). Our results suggest that as the water content increases to 5 vol %, the RS process improves; further increases in the water content impair the RS process.

Automated summary

The effect of water content on the resistive switching properties of Ti foils was investigated. With appropriate water content, nanopores can be transformed into nanotubes gradually, with an increase in tube wall diameter and tube length. The results showed that the resistive switching process improved when the water content increased to 5 vol %, but further increases in water content had a negative impact.