Colorimetric signaling of hydrogen sulfide by reduction of a phenylseleno-nitrobenzoxadiazole derivative

•A new H2S-selective probe based on nitrobenzoxadiazole was developed.•Phenylseleno-nitrobenzoxadiazole derivative showed prominent colorimetric signaling for H2S.•H2S signaling is due to the reduction of the nitro group to amino group.•Probe showed H2S selectivity over other common ions with a detection limit of 2.1 μM.

A new reaction-based probe for the colorimetric signaling of hydrogen sulfide was developed. Reduction of the nitro group of a nitrobenzoxadiazole moiety to an amino group resulted in pronounced chromogenic signaling in the form of a yellow to pink color change. The transformation of the nitro group to amino group was confirmed by the 1H NMR spectroscopy. The seleno derivative showed more efficient signaling behavior than the phenylthio and phenoxy analogues. Hydrogen sulfide signaling of phenylseleno-nitrobenzoxadiazole probe was fast and completed immediately after sample preparation. Selective signaling of hydrogen sulfide was possible in the presence of commonly encountered metal ions and anions with a detection limit of 2.1 × 10−6 M.

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