Melanin Conductivity Increase Could Lead to Bioelectronics

Mar-28-19 A breakthrough increase in the electrical conductivity of melanin could open the door to a new generation of bioelectronics.

Though scientists have knowns that melanin (eumelanin) is conductive, that amount of conductivity was not large enough for practical use. Now, however, a team of researchers has developed a way to increase that conductivity by heating thin films of eumelanin under vacuum conditions, resulting in what the team describes as High Vacuum Annealed Eumelanin (HAVE).

According to study senior author Dr. Alessandro Pezzella of University of Naples Federico II, "The conductivity of the films increased billion-fold to an unprecedented value of over 300 S/cm, after annealing at 600°C for 2 hours." This increase makes the material commercially viable, and the amount of conductivity can be fine-tuned for a wide range of applications.

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