The peculiarities of dynamic current-voltage and charge-voltage loops and transient currents of melanin under pulse hydration

Abstract

Melanin is a biopolymer with unique set of applicable physical and chemical properties. The impact of a moisture-saturated air pulse (~1 s) on dynamic current-voltage (I-V-), charge-voltage (Q-V-) and transient (I-t-) characteristics of fungal melanin thin layers was investigated. The pulse hydration gives rise to sharp increase of conductance and capacitance (by I-V-loops and I-t-curves swing), transferred charge (by Q-V-loops swing) and causes the appearance of the following peculiarities: hump-like on I-V-loops, knee-like on I-V-curves and step-like on I-t-curves. General shape of I-V-loops was modelled under low hydration by linear series-parallel RC-circuit and under high hydration by the circuit with anti-series Zener diodes as nonlinear elements. By processing of bipolar I-V-loops and I-t-curves allowing for unipolar ones, the maxima of displacement current - voltage loops were revealed and their similarity to current maxima observed under ionic space charge transfer in metal-insulator-semiconductor structures and under polarization reversal in ferroelectrics is discussed. Corresponding processing of bipolar Q-V-loops evidences general shape of obtained dielectric displacement - voltage loops characteristic to ion-conducting materials. As a reason of observed transformations, the appearance of temporal polar media with reversible ferroelectric-like polarization and ionic space charge transfer is considered. Obtained results disclose the functional capabilities of melanin based sensing devices operating in dynamic mode for both hydration and driving voltage.