An investigation into the use of micro-Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of car paints and single textile fibres

Micro-Raman spectroscopy was applied to identification and differentiation between criminalistic traces such as micropaint chips and single fibres. The aim was to determine the degree of discrimination between fibres coloured by defined chemical dye classes and to differentiate between paint samples on the basis of pigment/dye content. Samples of coloured cotton fibres and samples of green car paints were examined.It was found that the majority of the obtained Raman spectra provided information about the main dyes present in the sample. However, in some cases fluorescence of the samples made dye identification impossible. Spectral libraries for examined paint samples and single fibres were created in order to facilitate quick recognition of similar forensic traces using this analytical method.