Habib Pathan,

Abstract: In the present work, melanin thin films were grown directly on ITO substrates by using simple electrochemical synthesis method. Formation of melanin films has been confirmed by low angle XRD, Raman spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. Structural and optical properties of melanin films were carefully and systematically studied as a function of deposition time. The results obtained from low angle XRD analysis support the nano-aggregate model of melanin. UV-Visible spectroscopy analysis revealed that the melanin thin films have the absorption spectra similar to that of amorphous and disordered semiconductors. The SE) images show the uniform growth of melanin and full coverage of substrate with controllable thickness. The FTIR spectroscopy suggests the presence of different vibrational modes of melanin over the entire range of deposition time studied while Raman spectroscopy analysis shows the presence of vibrational modes of different functional group of melanin structure. Furthermore, investigation of the Raman and FTIR spectroscopy also shows that melanin thin films have biopolymer like structure and behave similar to the amorphous semiconductor. The ease of deposition of melanin thin films provides a new insight for potential applications in organic electronic devices