S2N2 paper manuscript FINAL revised.pdf (5.19 MB)
Download fileA comparative evaluation of the disulfur dinitride process for the visualisation of fingermarks on metal surfaces
journal contribution
posted on 2019-07-10, 14:45 authored by Stephen M. Bleay, Paul KellyPaul Kelly, Roberto S.P. King, S.G. ThorngateThe disulfur dinitride process for fingermark visualisation was first reported a decade ago, with promising results obtained for a range of materials including metals. However, the friction sensitive nature of the material and difficulty of synthesis made routine use difficult. Many of these issues have since been addressed, making equipment and chemicals available to build an understanding of how the effectiveness of disulfur dinitride compares to other fingermark visualisation processes currently used on metal surfaces. This enables more informed advice to be given on selection of processes for treatment of metal items, an area of operational interest that encompasses weapons used in violent crime and the increasing incidence in metal theft. This paper reports a comparative study into the effectiveness of disulfur dinitride, cyanoacrylate fuming, vacuum metal deposition, gun blueing and wet powder suspensions on brass, bronze, copper and stainless steel. Experiments were conducted with the surfaces exposed to a range of environments including long term ageing, water/detergent washing, acetone washing and high temperature exposure. The results indicate that disulfur dinitride is an effective process for fingermark visualisation on metal surfaces, including those exposed to adverse environments, and may offer potential improvements over existing processes for those surfaces. Further work, including pseudo-operational trials, is recommended.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Chemistry
Published in
Science & JusticeVolume
59Issue
6Pages
606 - 621Citation
BLEAY, S.M. ... et al, 2019. A comparative evaluation of the disulfur dinitride process for the visualisation of fingermarks on metal surfaces. Science & Justice, 59 (6), pp.606-621.Publisher
Elsevier BV on behalf of The Chartered Society of Forensic Science © Crown CopyrightVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Science & Justice and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2019.06.011.Acceptance date
2019-06-30Publication date
2019-07-03Copyright date
2019ISSN
1355-0306Publisher version
Language
- en