Open AccessExamination of Different Inks Available in Ethiopia Using VSC 8000, U.V-Visible Spectrophotometer and TLC: Study of Their Discrimination Potential
Author(s) -
Natinael Mekonnen
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international research journal of science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2707-3955
DOI - 10.46378/irjst.2019.010109
Subject(s) - rhodamine 6g , inkwell , authentication (law) , rhodamine , chromatography , chemistry , computer science , materials science , polymer science , organic chemistry , optics , composite material , physics , molecule , computer security , fluorescence
Ink analysis is the most challenging and commonly encountered problem facedby a forensic chemist. Ink present on documents such as contracts, cheques,testaments, medical records, to quote just a few, is regularly contested for itsauthentication. In this paper, we have examined the various inks available inEthiopia (speciallyArba Minch) using chromatography and spectroscopymethods, and have tried to decode the chemical compositions of these inksemphasizing on coloring agents followed by evaluating the discriminationpotential of these techniques. This study is the first kind of detailed examinationof inks available in Ethiopia as there is no precedence literature to it. It wasfound out that the examined ink samples can be divided into five major groupshaving mainly rhodamine b, rhodamine 6G and crystal violet as coloring agents.The TLC and UV-Vis techniques although discriminate inks samples to a littlebetter extent than VSC, but VSC should be preferred due to its non-destructivenature.