Electrochemical synthesis of melanin free-standing films

Free-standing melanin films were successfully synthesised electrochemically from dopa. The optimum synthetic conditions such as pH, concentration and current were determined, and it was found that free-standing films could only be formed when ITO glass electrodes were used. The films were analysed by solid state NMR and XPS which showed the presence of indolic moieties characteristic of melanin-type macromolecules. The film showed higher conductivity than chemically synthesised melanin previously reported in literature and also exhibited photoconductivity.