Quick and Selective Dual Mode Detection of H2S Gas by Mobile App Employing Silver Nanorods Array.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a hazardous gas, which not only harms living beings but also poses a significant risk to damage materials placed in culture and art museums, due to its corrosive nature. We demonstrate a novel approach for selective rapid detection of H2S gas using silver nanorods (AgNRs) arrays on glass substrates at ambient conditions. The arrays were prepared by glancing angle deposition method. The colorimetric and water wetting properties of as-fabricated arrays were found to be highly sensitive toward the sulfurization, in the presence of H2S gas with a minimal concentration in ppm range. The performance of AgNRs as H2S gas sensor is investigated by its sensing ability of 5 ppm of gas with an exposure time of only 30 s. We have developed an android-based mobile app to monitor real-time colorimetric detection of H2S. The wettability detection has been carried out by a mobile camera. A comparative analysis for different gases reveals the highest sensitivity and selectivity of the array AgNRs toward H2S. The rapid detection has also been demonstrated for H2S emission from aged wool fabric. Thus, high sensing ability of AgNRs toward H2S gas may have potential applications in health monitoring and art conservation.