Preparation of rhodamine 6G dye coated nano-coal fly ash nanocomposite: Novel forensic powder for latent fingerprint detection

This study reports on a novel powder-based rhodamine 6G dye coated nano-coal fly ash (Rh6G/nano-CFA) nanocomposite that was used in a powder dusting technique to develop latent fingerprint (LFP) images under day light conditions. Several instrumental methods, including UV–visible spectroscopy (UV), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) were used to characterize the Rh6G/nano-CFA nanocomposite. In order to enhance the established latent fingerprint detection on a variety of porous and non-porous substrates using the powder dusting approach in daylight conditions, Rh6G dye was loaded onto the nano-CFA. According to the data, clear LFPs images with ridge patterns in levels 2 and 3 were examined for personal identification using Rh6G/nano-CFA nanocomposite powder with powder dusting technique on a variety of substrates, including aluminum foil, glass slides, tiles, paper money, plastic bottles and tin cans. Aged LFPs images were also effectively developed using this Rh6G/nano-CFA nanocomposite on the aluminum foil substrate with minimal background contrast. Thus, the Rh6G/nano-CFA nanocomposite demonstrated that its excellent contrast and high sensitivity made it a promising powder for use in practical forensic science applications. • Preparation of nano-CFA from Raw CFA by using a hydrothermal treatment method. • Rh6G/nano-CFA was prepared by an adsorption method. • A novel Rh6G/nano-CFA nanocomposite powder was used as a labeling powder in LFP detection. • Rh6G/nano-CFA nanocomposite was very effective for LFP detection.