Effects of Melanin on Optical Behavior of Polymer: From Natural Pigment to Materials Applications

Melanin is a kind of ubiquitous natural pigment, which serves a variety of protective functions in many organisms. In the present study, natural melanin and synthetic melanin nanoparticles (NPs) were systematically investigated for its potential application in polymeric optical materials. A significant short-wavelength shielding and high visible light transparency polymer nanocomposite was easily obtained via tuning the melanin particle size. In particular, the nanocomposite film with melanin NPs (diameter ≈ 15 nm) loading even as low as 1 wt % blocks most ultraviolet light below 340 nm and still keeps high visible light transparency (83%) in the visible spectrum. More importantly, because of the excellent photoprotection and radical scavenging capabilities of melanin, the resulting polymer nanocomposite exhibits outstanding photostability. In effect, such fantastic melanin NPs is promising for applications in various optical materials.