Conduction and dielectric polarisation in proteins and molecular complexes

Abstract

For wealky conducting materials such as proteins and certain molecular solids the charge-transport mechanism often involves the phonon-assisted hopping of charge carriers between localised sites. It is shown here that for such materials a direct relationship exists between the steady-state conductivity and the relaxation time of the dielectric dispersion that arises from the hopping charges. A theoretical relationship is derived which accurately describes the conductivity and dielectric properties of bovine serum albumin and the perylene–chloranil complex.