Issue 41, 2019

Mechanistic understanding of monovalent cation transport in eumelanin pigments

Abstract

Recent research advances in charge-conducting materials have enabled the transformation of the naturally-occurring materials into crucial components in many technologies, including renewable energy storage devices or bioelectronics. Among various candidates, eumelanins are promising charge storage materials, exhibiting hybrid electronic ionic conductivity in a hydrated environment. The chemical and electrochemical properties of eumelanins are relatively well studied; however, the structure–property relationship is still elusive up to date. Herein, we reported the mesoscale structure of eumelanins and its impact on the charge transport. X-ray scattering suggests that eumelanin pigments exhibit the semi-crystalline structure with ordered d-spacings. These unique mesoscale structures further influence the charge transport mechanism with the cations of various sizes. Understanding the structures with consequent electrochemical properties suggest that eumelanins can further be tuned to serve as high-performance naturally-occurring charge storage materials.

Graphical abstract: Mechanistic understanding of monovalent cation transport in eumelanin pigments

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
17 jun 2019
Accepted
12 ago 2019
First published
15 ago 2019

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2019,7, 6355-6361

Mechanistic understanding of monovalent cation transport in eumelanin pigments

Z. Tian, W. Hwang and Y. J. Kim, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2019, 7, 6355 DOI: 10.1039/C9TB01211G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements