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.