A versatile dithienylethene-containing β-diketonate ligand and its boron(III) compounds have been successfully synthesized. Upon photocyclization, the ligand shows a new absorption band at 630 nm with good fatigue resistance and high thermal stability. Incorporation of the boron center has been demonstrated to shift the photochromic behavior to the NIR region.

A novel small-molecule boron(III)-containing donor-acceptor compound has been synthesized and employed in the fabrication of solution-processable electronic resistive memory devices. High ternary memory performances with low turn-on (V(Th1)=2.0 V) and distinct threshold voltages (V(Th2)=3.3 V), small reading bias (1.0 V), and long retention time (>10(4) seconds) with a large ON/OFF ratio of each state (current ratio of "OFF", "ON1", and "ON2"=1:10(3):10(6)) have been demonstrated, suggestive of its potential application in high-density data storage. The present design strategy provides new insight in the future design of memory devices with multi-level transition states.