A near-infrared turn-on fluorescent probe for the detection of hydrogen sulfide in water samples and food spoilage.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is a poisonous pollutant that endangers the environment, and HS is also produced during food spoilage. Herein, we constructed a dicyanoisophorone-based near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe (DCID) to detect HS. DCID exhibited significant turn-on fluorescence at 700 nm with a low limit of detection (LOD = 74 nM), large Stokes shift (220 nm), prominent selectivity, and response time (100 s) toward HS. Importantly, the DCID probe had powerful applications in the detection of HS in environmental samples and food spoilage. In addition, based on DCID-loaded test strips and combined a smartphone sensing platform, which provided a portable and convenient approach for the detection of HS.