One Unique 1D Silver(I)-Bromide-Thiol Coordination Polymer Used for Highly Efficient Chemiresistive Sensing of Ammonia and Amines in Water

Reaction of AgBr
with Tab­HPF6 (TabH = 4-(trimethyl­am­monio)­ben­zene­thiol)
readily produces a unique one-dimensional coordination polymer [(TabH)­(Ag­Br2)]n (1), consisting
of anionic chains [Ag­Br2]nn– with hydrogen bonds to TabH+ cations. By examining its electrical resistance and stability
upon exposure to ammonia and seven common organic amines in water
under ambient conditions, compound 1 is found to exhibit
good stability and reproducibly high sensitivity toward these analytes
at low concentrations. Especially, it can selectively detect NH3 in water with the detection limit as low as 0.05 ppm. This
chemiresistive sensing system has the potential for highly efficient
monitoring of ammonia and amines responsible for water pollution,
eutrophication, food contamination, and industrial hazards.