Engineering Physics Department, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada.
Printability and Graphic Communication Institute, Montréal, QC H2M 2E2, Canada.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Aug 9;119(32):e2200058119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2200058119. Epub 2022 Aug 1.
Melanins (from the Greek μέλας, mélas, black) are bio-pigments ubiquitous in flora and fauna. Eumelanin is an insoluble brown-black type of melanin, found in vertebrates and invertebrates alike, among which Sepia (cuttlefish) is noteworthy. Sepia melanin is a type of bio-sourced eumelanin that can readily be extracted from the ink sac of cuttlefish. Eumelanin features broadband optical absorption, metal-binding affinity and antioxidative and radical-scavenging properties. It is a prototype of benign material for sustainable organic electronics technologies. Here, we report on an electronic conductivity as high as 10 S cm in flexographically printed Sepia melanin films; such values for the conductivity are typical for well-established high-performance organic electronic polymers but quite uncommon for bio-sourced organic materials. Our studies show the potential of bio-sourced materials for emerging electronic technologies with low human- and eco-toxicity.
黑色素（源于希腊语 μέλας，melas，黑色）是在植物界和动物界普遍存在的生物色素。真黑色素是一种不溶性的棕黑色黑色素，在脊椎动物和无脊椎动物中都有发现，其中乌贼（墨鱼）尤为引人注目。乌贼黑色素是一种生物来源的真黑色素，可以很容易地从墨鱼的墨囊中提取出来。真黑色素具有宽带光吸收、金属结合亲和力以及抗氧化和自由基清除特性。它是可持续有机电子技术中良性材料的原型。在这里，我们报告了在柔性印刷的乌贼黑色素薄膜中高达 10 S cm 的电子电导率；这种电导率值对于性能良好的高性能有机电子聚合物来说是典型的，但对于生物来源的有机材料来说却相当罕见。我们的研究表明，生物来源的材料具有用于新兴电子技术的潜力，这些技术具有低的人类毒性和生态毒性。
