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Allomelanin: A Biopolymer of Intrinsic Microporosity

Authors :
Steven Weigand
Hashanthi Abeyratne-Perera
Zheng Wang
Karthikeyan Gnanasekaran
Brandy J. Johnson
Martin H. Moore
Nathan C. Gianneschi
Zofia E. Siwicka
Naneki C. McCallum
Gary J. Vora
Brooke E. Barnes
Florencia A. Son
Tristan D. Clemons
Chris Forman
Claudia Battistella
Xuhao Zhou
Samuel I. Stupp
Daniel A. Savin
Omar K. Farha
Source :
Journal of the American Chemical Society. 143(10)
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Melanin is a ubiquitous natural pigment found in a diverse array of organisms. Allomelanin is a class of nitrogen-free melanin often found in fungi. Herein, we find artificial allomelanin analogues exhibit high intrinsic microporosity and describe an approach for further increasing and tuning that porosity. Notably, the synthetic method involves an oxidative polymerization of 1,8-DHN in water, negating the need for multiple complex templating steps and avoiding expensive or complex chemical precursors. The well-defined morphologies of these nanomaterials were elucidated by a combination of electron microscopy and scattering methods, yielding to high-resolution 3D reconstruction based on small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) results. Synthetic allomelanin nanoparticles exhibit high BET areas, up to 860 m2/g, and are capable of ammonia capture up to 17.0 mmol/g at 1 bar. In addition, these nanomaterials can adsorb nerve agent simulants in solution and as a coating on fabrics with high breathability where they prevent breakthrough. We also confirmed that naturally derived fungal melanin can adsorb nerve gas simulants in solution efficiently despite lower porosity than synthetic analogues. Our approach inspires further analysis of yet to be discovered biological materials of this class where melanins with intrinsic microporosity may be linked to evolutionary advantages in relevant organisms and may in turn inspire the design of new high surface area materials.

Details

ISSN :
15205126
Volume :
143
Issue :
10
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....7de46614d3513c60c2f43f3c86d635cf