Synthesis of NIR-Responsive NaYF4:Yb,Er Upconversion Fluorescent Nanoparticles Using an Optimized Solvothermal Method and Their Applications in Enhanced Development of Latent Fingerprints on Various Smooth Substrates

TLDR: This work shows that UCNPs synthesized under optimized conditions are a versatile fluorescent label for the facile development of fingerprints and can find their practical applications in forensic sciences.

Abstract: Fingerprints at crime scenes are usually latent. The powder-dusting method is the most commonly used procedure for developing latent fingerprints in forensic science. However, the traditional powder-dusting method has characteristics of low sensitivity, low contrast, high background noise, and high autofluorescence interference. To overcome the drawbacks faced by the traditional method, we first optimized an oleic acid-based solvothermal approach for the synthesis of NaYF4:Yb,Er fluorescent upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with the highest possible fluorescence intensity under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. To optimize the synthesis, we studied the effects of the reaction time, reaction temperature, and volume of oleic acid on the size, phase composition, and UC fluorescence intensity of the UCNPs. We then used the resultant UCNPs to fluorescently label the fingerprints on various smooth substrates to improve the development of latent fingerprints because the UCNPs could undergo excitation under 980 n...