Development of silica gel from Lapindo volcanic mud as fluorescent fingerprint powder based on methyl orange

Fingerprint powder remains one of the most effective techniques for identifying individuals from their latent fingerprints. Visualizing latent fingerprints requires powder with high color contrast and strong adhesive to be easily applied on various substrates. The utilization of silica gel extracted from local materials of Lapindo volcanic mud can be applied for fluorescent fingerprint powder based on methyl orange. The powder was synthesized by the sol-gel method, followed by the impregnation of methyl orange as a dye with varying loads. The powders exhibit an amorphous structure and nanoparticle size with an average particle diameter of 80.93 nm by spherical morphology interconnected to form agglomerations. The powder contains silanol, siloxane, azo, and carboxylate functional groups derived from its precursors. The dusting method proves the performance of fluorescent fingerprint powder on porous and non-porous substrates hereafter observed under white light and UV light. The powder containing 0.05 gs of methyl orange per gram of silica gel is the most effective in revealing fingerprint patterns on non-porous surfaces. It has mesoporous properties with a specific surface area of 7.95 m²g⁻¹ and a pore diameter of 23.14 nm. SiMO retained its full capability after two years of storage, indicating it is a great choice for forensic investigations.