Abstract

Cyanoacrylate fuming is a forensic technique that uses the anionic polymerization of cyanoacrylate esters present in "super glue" to render latent fingerprints visible. In this classroom activity, students use this technique on fingerprints created on different types of surfaces. They investigate the technique's effectiveness and test the effects of changing the temperature and humidity of the fuming chamber.

Educational Context

The activity is aimed towards high school students. The chemical concepts that are reinforced by the activity include: different states of matter, evaporation, chemical reactions, gas adsorption in thin liquid layers, polymerization, and polymers.

Cited By (6)

1. Chen, H., Tian, L., & Zhang, M. (2023). Hierarchical Activities Designed for High-Resolution Visualization and Quantitative Analysis of Fingerprint Sweat Pores. Journal of Chemical Education, 100(8), 3017-3024. View
2. Azman, A. M. (2020). Fast, Easy, Reproducible Method for Planting Fingerprints for Ninhydrin, Iodine Development. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(2), 571-573. View
3. Friesen, J. B. (2015). Forensic Chemistry: The Revelation of Latent Fingerprints. Journal of Chemical Education, 92(3), 497-504. View
4. Friesen, J. B. (2015). Activities Designed for Fingerprint Dusting and the Chemical Revelation of Latent Fingerprints. Journal of Chemical Education, 92(3), 505-508. View
5. Payne, I. C., McCarthy, I., Almond, M. J., Baum, J. V., & Bond, J. W. (2014). The Effect of Light Exposure on the Degradation of Latent Fingerprints on Brass Surfaces: The Use of Silver Electroless Deposition as a Visualization Technique. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 59(5), 1368-1371. View
6. Bartley, J. K., Basu‐Dutt, S., Geisler, V. J., Khan, F. A., & Swamy‐Mruthinti, S. (2010). Making Chemistry Relevant to Science and Engineering Majors. In Making Chemistry Relevant (pp. 169-192). View