Journal article

Engineering Temperature-Switchable Conducting Metal-Phenolic Network Films.

Tianzheng Wang, Zhixing Lin, Ben McLean, Omid Mazaheri, Azmira Jannat, Xiangyang Guo, Wanjun Xu, Joseph J Richardson, Irene Yarovsky, Ali Zavabeti, Frank Caruso

Advanced Materials | Wiley | Published : 2026

Abstract

Designing energy-efficient materials capable of transitioning between insulating and conducting states with ultrahigh ON/OFF ratios is a key challenge in advancing electronic materials. Herein, a class of materials exhibiting temperature-tunable insulator-metal transitions based on the facile chemistry of metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) is reported. Enhanced π-π stacking in the materials at elevated temperatures triggers a transition from insulating to highly conductive states, as confirmed experimentally and by molecular dynamics simulations. The MPN films (∼10-300 nm thick) exhibit ultrahigh OFF-state resistance, tunable transition temperatures (354-504 K), ultrafast switching speeds (18 cm..

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