Development of Well-Defined Artificial Eumelanin

­BACKGROUND

Melanin is a naturally occurring pigment found in many organisms. Eumelanin is the black-brown variety of melanin which is responsible for dark colored eyes, hair, and skin. It acts as a natural photoprotector from the harmful radiation from the sun. Eumelanin is resistant to damage caused by high temperature, chemical stresses, reactive oxygen species, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, gamma rays, and alpha and beta particles. Therefore, the pigment is extremely fade resistant and impervious to water and environmental exposure. Natural and current synthesized eumelanin are extremely heterogeneous, insoluble and do not have a definite structure. Thus elucidation of its structure-property relationship is challenging. Current research involving electronic devices based on eumelanin has only employed insoluble eumelanin pellets or thin, brittle films displaying very poor morphologies. In order for eumelanin to become a commercialized material, a new synthetic approach will need to be developed for the generation of processable eumelanin polymers with tunable properties.

SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY

OSU researchers have synthesized an artificial eumelanin (black-brown pigment) polymer that is highly functional and processable.  The polymer’s properties can be altered based on the desired application including light absorption for polymer solar cells and metal coordination for metal remediation of drinking water.  

POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATION

• Organic Electronics including: Solar Cells, Field-Effect Transistors, Light Emitting Diodes Thermoelectrics, Batteries, and Biosensors
• Metal remediation of drinking water
• Pigment particles for a variety of coating materials

MAIN ADVANTAGES

• Artificial eumelanin is well-defined and can be soluble in water and organic solvents
• Macromolecules are tolerant to different functional groups for tuning the optical, electronic, chemical and physical properties such as light absorption, charge mobility and film forming properties can be altered as per application

STATE OF DEVELOPMENT

This technology has passed the proof of concept.