Abstract
The article focuses on the cost-effective and high-quality non-destructive template-assisted magnetic mesoporous iron nanomaterial for latent Fingerprint examination (LFPs). The iron nanomaterial is synthesized using the CTAB template by the co-precipitation method. The synthesized nanomaterial is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 sorption- Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), EDX elemental mapping, Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), UV–Visible spectroscopy, and XPS. The N2 sorption showed that the synthesized material is mesoporous with an H1 hysteresis loop. The TEM images showed the spherical shape and particle size to be around 55–65 nm. The VSM analysis successfully established its ferromagnetic nature. The synthesized nanomaterial showed excellent magnetic recovery after its utilization and retained fingerprints for 2–3 months with the same resolution. We collected the fingerprint on both non-porous and non-porous surfaces with better-developed ridges of fingerprints compared to conventional fingerprinting dyes (charcoal).
Synthesis of magnetically separable template-assisted mesoporous iron nanomaterial and application for latent fingerprint. [Display omitted]
•Magnetically separable template-assisted iron nanomaterial is synthesized by the co-precipitation method and is used for the development of latent fingerprints.•The fingerprints developed at the porous and non-porous surfaces are clearly visible and easily identifiable.•The Nanomaterial developed is cost effect, magnetically separable, porous with high surface area, and requires a simple procedure for synthesis.•Since the material is magnetic, it can be recovered back as soon as the fingerprints are developed, and as such less wastage is reported as compared to other available materials used for latent fingerprint development.