Electrochemical Storage: Catechol‐Mediated Reversible Binding of Multivalent Cations in Eumelanin Half‐Cells (Adv. Mater. 38/2014)

Biologically derived polymers from the cuttlefish can be leveraged as sustainable energy-storage materials. Melanin pigments exhibit redox-active chemistries and homogeneous nanostructured particles. Catechols can be oxidized into ortho-quinones and reversibly bind magnesium cations with differential affinity as described by J. F. Whitacre, C. J. Bettinger, and co-workers on page 6572. These properties of melanin biopolymers are advantageous for the potential use as cathodes in rechargeable magnesium ion batteries with high cycle stability. Photo credit: Brent Polishak.