We apply functionalized carbon nanoshell and carbon sphere based composites in poly(vinylphenol) matrix in write-once-read-many-times memory elements. The devices based on carbon nanoshells show an ON/OFF current ratio of 10(5) and long-term information retention. The functionalized carbon nanoshells and carbon spheres show improved dispersion in the poly(vinylphenol) matrix, allowing the preparation of homogeneous films even at the submicrometer scale. The low ON current allows low power operation, dissipating less than 10(-4) J per square meter device active area during the write operation, which is the most energy consuming one.