Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was tested for all of the relevant issues in forensic examinations of commercial inks, including classification of pen inks on one paper type and on different paper types, determination of the deposition order of layered inks, and analysis of signatures and toners on one questioned document. The scope of this work was to determine the potential of a single LIBS setup that is compatible with portable instruments for different types of ink analysis, rather than building a very large database for inks and papers. We identified up to seven metals characteristic for the examined inks, which allowed to fully discriminate all eight black inks on one type of printing paper. When the inks were tested on ten different papers, the correct classification rates for some of them were reduced for reasons thoroughly studied and explained. The replicated tests on three crossing points, each one involving a pair of blue or black inks, were successful in five cases out of six. In the test simulating documents of forensic interest (questioned documents), LIBS was able to correctly identify the differences in three inks used for signatures on one of the three pages and the use of different printing inks on each page of the document.

The forensic scenario, on which the round robin study was based, simulated a suspected intentional manipulation of a real estate rental agreement consisting of a total of three pages. The aims of this study were to (i) establish the amount and reliability of information extractable from a single type of evidence and to (ii) provide suggestions on the most suitable combination of compatible techniques for a multi-modal imaging approach to forgery detection. To address these aims, seventeen laboratories from sixteen countries were invited to answer the following tasks questions: (i) which printing technique was used? (ii) were the three pages printed with the same printer? (iii) were the three pages made from the same paper? (iv) were the three pages originally stapled? (v) were the headings and signatures written with the same ink? and (vi) were headings and signatures of the same age on all pages? The methods used were classified into the following categories: Optical spectroscopy, including multispectral imaging, smartphone mapping, UV-luminescence and LIBS; Infrared spectroscopy, including Raman and FTIR (micro-)spectroscopy; X-ray spectroscopy, including SEM-EDX, PIXE and XPS; Mass spectrometry, including ICPMS, SIMS, MALDI and LDIMS; Electrostatic imaging, as well as non-imaging methods, such as non-multimodal visual inspection, (micro-)spectroscopy, physical testing and thin layer chromatography. The performance of the techniques was evaluated as the proportion of discriminated sample pairs to all possible sample pairs. For the undiscriminated sample pairs, a distinction was made between undecidability and false positive claims. It was found that none of the methods used were able to solve all tasks completely and/or correctly and that certain methods were a priori judged unsuitable by the laboratories for some tasks. Correct results were generally achieved for the discrimination of printer toners, whereas incorrect results in the discrimination of inks. For the discrimination of paper, solid state analytical methods proved to be superior to mass spectrometric methods. None of the participating laboratories deemed addressing ink age feasible. It was concluded that correct forensic statements can only be achieved by the complementary application of different methods and that the classical approach of round robin studies to send standardised subsamples to the participants is not feasible for a true multimodal approach if the techniques are not available at one location.

Halide perovskites are a novel class of semiconductors that have attracted great interest in recent decades due to their peculiar properties of interest for optoelectronics. In fact, their use ranges from the field of sensors and light emitters to ionizing radiation detectors. Since 2015, ionizing radiation detectors exploiting perovskite films as active media have been developed. Recently, it has also been demonstrated that such devices can be suitable for medical and diagnostic applications. This review collects most of the recent and innovative publications regarding solid-state devices for the detection of X-rays, neutrons, and protons based on perovskite thin and thick films in order to show that this type of material can be used to design a new generation of devices and sensors. Thin and thick films of halide perovskites are indeed excellent candidates for low-cost and large-area device applications, where the film morphology allows the implementation on flexible devices, which is a cutting-edge topic in the sensor sector.

^99mTc-based radiopharmaceuticals are the most commonly used medical radioactive tracers in nuclear medicine for diagnostic imaging. Due to the expected global shortage of ⁹⁹Mo, the parent radionuclide from which ^99mTc is produced, new production methods should be developed. The SORGENTINA-RF (SRF) project aims at developing a prototypical medium-intensity D-T 14-MeV fusion neutron source specifically designed for production of medical radioisotopes with a focus on ⁹⁹Mo. The scope of this work was to develop an efficient, cost-effective and green procedure for dissolution of solid molybdenum in hydrogen peroxide solutions compatible for ^99mTc production via the SRF neutron source. The dissolution process was extensively studied for two different target geometries: pellets and powder. The first showed better characteristics and properties for the dissolution procedure, and up to 100 g of pellets were successfully dissolved in 250–280 min. The dissolution mechanism on the pellets was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. After the procedure, sodium molybdate crystals were characterized via X-ray diffraction, Raman and infrared spectroscopy and the high purity of the compound was established by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. The study confirmed the feasibility of the procedure for production of ^99mTc in SRF as it is very cost-effective, with minimal consumption of peroxide and controlled low temperature.

Na₂MoO₄ and Na₂WO₄ are isostructural semiconductors, belonging to the spinel class. They have interesting properties and find applications in numerous sectors. These properties can be tuned by controlling the composition of their solid solutions. Here, different methods to obtain these compounds are presented, both wet and solid-state synthesis. The obtained results show a possible dependence of the material properties on the chosen synthesis method. The pure compounds and their mixtures were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction.