STUDY AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MELANIN FILMS FOR APPLICATION IN BIOELECTRONICS.

Abstract

The present project intends to study the electrical properties of melanin films seeking a better understanding of the conduction mechanisms of the material, enabling its use in bioelectronics. The interest in melanin in this area is linked to its biocompatibility and proton conduction characteristics related to the hydroxyl (OH) and carboxyl (COOH) functional groups in its composition, although there is still no consensus on its charge transport in the literature. Thus, in a systematic way, different synthetic melanins will be studied with different proportions between the DHICA/DHI monomers, which are the main constituents of its structure, which will be related to the electrical and structural properties of the films obtained. Therefore, morphological, structural, optical and electrical measurements will be carried out, considering exogenous agents such as humidity and temperature as influences on electrical properties. Finally, the addition of conductive polymers and mixing with melanins will be considered to improve the electronic conduction of synthetic melanins, enabling their use as an active layer in the most diverse devices developed by the group, such as supercapacitors and organic electrochemical transistors.Keywords: Melanin, electrical properties, conductive polymers, bioelectronics.