Hybrid Porphyrin/DOPA-melanin film as self-assembled material and smart device for dye-pollutant removal in water

Mussels-inspired melanin coatings from L-DOPA are getting growing attention by virtue of their facile synthesis and low-cost production. However, the spontaneous DOPA-melanin deposition is often affected by numerous experimental factors which hinder the preparation of robust adhesive films for practical application. Hence, we have set up a feasible method to functionalized in an aqueous medium an ordinary glass substrate with a self assembled and homogeneous DOPA-melanin film. The sample was employed to efficiently remove a dye pollutant, the methylene blue, from water. Interestingly, the introduction of the H2TCPPspm4 porphyrin allows obtaining a hybrid film with an enhancement of 20% in terms of adsorption capacity. The hybrid system exhibited significant reusability for more dye-adsorption cycles, suggesting the possibility to actualize a smart, re-usable and easy-to-scale device with high potentiality in water remediation technology.