Dichroism measurements in forensic fibre examination: Part 3 — Dyed cotton and viscose fibres

A number of dyed cellulosic fibres were examined with plane polarized light on their dichroic behavior by microscopy and microspectrophotometry (MSP-PPL). Significant dichroic effects (mostly hypochromic effects and hypsochromic bands shifts) were reported. The effect is related to the chemical structure: some dye structures always possess dichroism (azo, stilbene, thiazole and oxazine), some dyes demonstrate sometimes dichroic effects (anthraquinoid, indigoid) while other structures never demonstrate dichroic effects (sulphur, diphenylmethanes, triarylmethanes, phthalocyanines). In some cases a different dichroic behavior was found for the same dyes applied on cotton and on viscose.