Natural Product-Empowered Green Strategy for Colorimetric Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide

H₂S can influence people's health and life even at low concentrations. The development of H₂S probes via a facile and green strategy is still a challenge due to the expense and the efficiency. Herein, a colorimetric H₂S probe with good selectivity, high sensitivity, and rapid response was prepared based on celastrol (CST), which was an extract from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. H₂S could affect the UV-vis spectra of the probe, resulting in the significant change of color from yellow to colorless, endowing the probe with the ability to quantitatively visualize H₂S within 1 min. The limit of detection of the probe was 84.49 nmol/L (2.879 ppb), which was far below the permissible exposure limit by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Moreover, the mechanism of the probe was revealed by density functional theory and further verified by NMR. Importantly, the CST-based probe can not only be used to evaluate H₂S in different water resources but also be applied in special protective apparatus to detect H₂S in the air. This study provides a new platform for the exploration of high-performance probes and rational use of natural products to meet the requirements for sustainable development.