  In living organisms, information is processed in interconnected symphonies of
ionic currents spiking through protein ion channels. As a result of dynamically
switching their conductive states, ion channels exhibit a variety of
current-voltage nonlinearities and memory effects. Fueled by the promise of
computing architectures entirely different from von Neumann, recent attempts to
identify and harness similar phenomena in artificial nanofluidic environments
focused on demonstrating analog circuit elements with memory. Here we explore
aqueous ionic transport through two-dimensional (2D) membranes featuring arrays
of ion-trapping crown-ether-like pores. We demonstrate that for aqueous salts
featuring ions with different ion-pore binding affinities, memristive effects
emerge through coupling between the time-delayed state of the system and its
transport properties. We also demonstrate a nanopore array that behaves as a
capacitor with a strain-tunable built-in barrier, yielding behaviors ranging
from current spiking to ohmic response. By focusing on the illustrative
underlying mechanisms, we demonstrate that realistically observable memory
effects may be achieved in nanofluidic systems featuring crown-porous 2D
membranes.
