A functional polyimide (6F/CzTPA PI), 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA)/ 4,4'-diamino-4 ''-N-carbazolyltriphenylamine (DACzTPA), was synthesized in our present work for electrical resistive memory device aciplications. Semiconductor parameter analysis on the polyimide memory devices indicates that the synthesized polyimide possesses a volatile static random access memory (SRAM) characteristic with an ON/OFF current ratio of about 10(5) at the threshold voltage of around 1.5 V and -1.8 V. In addition, the device using the 6F/CzTPA PI as the active layer reveals excellent long-term operation stability with the endurance of reading cycles up to 108 under a voltage pulse and retention times for at least 8 h under constant voltage stress (-1 V). The charge transfer mechanisms and the roles of the donor and acceptor components in the PI macromolecules associated with the electrical switching effect are elucidated on the basis of the experimental and quantum simulation results. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.