VISUALIZATION OF LATENT FINGERPRINTS BY COMBINED TETRA-N-BUTYLAMMONIUM IODIDE DUSTING AND NITROGEN DIOXIDE TREATMENT: MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS

Varinder SINGH; Metodija NAJDOSKI; Om Prakash JASUJA; Slobodan OKLEVSKI; Sasho STOJKOVIKJ

doi:10.24193/subbchem.2026.2.13

Authors

Varinder SINGH RIMT University, Punjab, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1794-174X
Metodija NAJDOSKI Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University - Skopje, Arhimedova 5, 1000, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5261-7788
Om Prakash JASUJA RIMT University, Punjab, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2221-1242
Slobodan OKLEVSKI Ministry of Interior, Republic of North Macedonia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1116-5631
Sasho STOJKOVIKJ MIT University Skopje, Boris Trajkovski 62, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. *Corresponding author: sasho.stojkovikj@dm.mit.edu.mk https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3346-2143

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbchem.2026.2.13

Keywords:

Latent fingerprints visualization, Tetra-n-butylammonium iodide, Nitrogen dioxide

Abstract

The development of methods for latent fingerprints visualization is still attractive considering that there is no approach that is universal for all types of fingerprints and substrates. A thorough understanding of the visualization mechanism is crucial for expanding methods application and making them practical for real case scenarios. In this research, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) treatment, previously limited to thermal paper substrates, is expanded towards visualization of latent fingerprints on various non-porous and porous substrates by introduction of pre-treatment with tetra-n-butylammonium iodide (TBAI). The visualization processes were studied using Raman, UV-Visible, FTIR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy, combined with various validation experiments. The results show that formation of molecular iodine (I₂), generated by reactions between NO₂ and TBAI, plays a key role in the visualization mechanism. The as-generated I₂ further reacts with excess TBAI, producing tetra-n-butylammonium triiodide (TBAI₃). TBAI₃is a dark colored compound that provides the dominating contrast of the visualized fingerprint. Besides reactant, TBAI resembles a role of a phase-transfer catalyst that enables NO₂ to penetrate deeper into fingerprint’s residue and to react with the fatty acid esters producing intrinsically colored nitro-compounds that additionally contribute towards fingerprints visualization effect.

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