Early Warning Sulfur Detection Based on Change in Fluorescence Intensity of Polymer-Bound Phosphine Compound

A method for detecting the presence of elemental sulfur in air, the method comprising the steps of:

• exposing a substrate to air from a surrounding environment, wherein the substrate includes a polymer-bound phosphine compound having a sulfur-getting functionality;
• monitoring the fluorescence intensity of the substrate in real time;
• detecting a change in the fluorescence intensity of the substrate;
• determining whether the change in the fluorescence intensity of the substrate is above a predetermined threshold;
• and
• triggering an alarm if the change in the fluorescence intensity is above the predetermined threshold.

A computer program product for detecting the presence of elemental sulfur in air, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code when executed by a processor in a digital computing device causes the digital computing device to perform the steps of:
• exposing a substrate to air from a surrounding environment, wherein the substrate includes a polymer-bound phosphine compound having a sulfur-getting functionality;
• monitoring the fluorescence intensity of the substrate in real time;
• detecting a change in the fluorescence intensity of the substrate;
• determining whether the change in the fluorescence intensity of the substrate is above a predetermined threshold;
• and
• triggering an alarm if the change in the fluorescence intensity is above the predetermined threshold.