A new type of nanoscale coordination particles: toward modification-free detection of hydrogen sulfide gas

A new type of nanoscale coordination particles (NCPs) are successfully synthesized on a large scale through a coordination-induced self-assembling process. The as-prepared NCPs exhibit fascinating fluorescence properties including large stokes shifts, strong photoluminescence (PL) intensity, high photochemical stability, as well as tunable emission spectra. Excitingly, this new type of NCPs enable rapid, sensitive and modification-free detection of H2S as its fluorescence can be selectively quenched in the presence of H2S. With this NCPs-based detection system, the lowest concentration to quantify H2S can be down to 2 ppm, which is five times lower than the permissible exposure limit value set by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Importantly, NCPs can serve as 'inks' for writeable detection of H2S. The ability to directly write the H2S-sensitive NCPs under ambient conditions is really convenient and offers promising perspectives for real-time monitoring H2S.