Allomelanin: A Biopolymer of Intrinsic Microporosity
Naneki C. McCallum, Florencia A. Son, Tristan D. Clemons, Steven J. Weigand, Karthikeyan Gnanasekaran, Claudia Battistella, Brooke E. Barnes, Hashanthi K. Abeyratne-Perera, Zofia E. Siwicka, Christopher J. Forman, Xuhao Zhou, Martin H. Moore, Daniel A. Savin, Samuel I. Stupp, Zheng Wang, Gary J. Vora, Brandy J. Johnson, Omar K. Farha, Nathan C. Gianneschi
Abstract
/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.