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Forensic examination of multilayer white paint by lateral scanning Raman spectroscopy
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Forensic examination of multilayer white paint by lateral scanning Raman spectroscopy

S.P. Stewart, S.E.J. Bell, W.J. Armstrong, G. Kee and S.J. Speers
Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, Vol.43(1), pp.131-137
2011
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Abstract

Multilayer samples of white architectural paint potentially have very high evidential value in forensic casework, because the probability that two unrelated samples will have the same sequence of layers is extremely low. However, discrimination between the different layers using optical microscopy is often difficult or impossible. Here, lateral scanning Raman spectroscopy has been used to chemically map the cross‐sections of multilayer white paint chips. It was found that the spectra did allow the different layers to be delineated on the basis of their spectral features. The boundaries between different layers were not as sharp as expected, with transitions occurring over length scales of > 20 µm, even with laser spot diameters < 4 µm. However, the blurring of the boundaries was not so large as to prevent recording and identification of spectra from each of the layers in the samples. This method clearly provides excellent discrimination between different multilayer white paint samples and can readily be incorporated into existing procedures for examination of paint transfer evidence.

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Citation topics
2 Chemistry
2.244 Chemometrics
2.244.1784 Forensic Spectroscopy
Web Of Science research areas
Spectroscopy
ESI research areas
Chemistry
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