Microelectrochemical Sensors for Hazardous Material Detection

描述（由申请人提供）：Synkera Technologies提议开发新的电化学传感器，用于识别危险材料密封系统（如化学品储罐）的故障。这些传感器将构成小型化设备的基础，可用于小型密封系统（桶）的独立泄漏检测，并且它们将足够便宜，可用于分布式网络系统，以监测整个工业设施中大型容器的多点潜在泄漏。有害物质密封系统的故障可能导致灾难性事故，导致伤害和生命损失，或者可能导致工人长期不必要地经常接触有毒化学品，这可能对健康产生慢性影响。这一努力将产生具有优异性能的新一代固态电化学传感器，使其能够与已知但成本更高的技术竞争，并有可能创造新的应用（由于显著的成本优势）。该传感器基于一种新型燃料电池技术的发展，代表了已经广泛用于气体检测的相关设备的重大进步。利用先进的材料和分析化学技术，Synkera将开发先进的传感器和电子设备，使其在非常小、价格合理的设备中运行，这将有利于在分布式网络中实施大范围监测。该项目将开发新的、改进的、实用的、具有成本效益的气体检测设备，可用于多种环境，以保护工人和公众。预计这些装置将大大减少灾难性事故的风险，并长期暴露于危险材料密封系统失效所产生的有毒气体中。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Synkera Technologies proposes to develop new electrochemical sensors for the identification of failures in hazardous materials containment systems, such as chemical storage tanks. These sensors will form the basis for miniaturized devices that can be used for stand alone leak detection of small containment systems (drums) and they will be inexpensive enough to use in distributed network systems to monitor potential leaks from multiple points on large vessels throughout an industrial facility. Failures in hazardous materials containment systems can lead to catastrophic accidents leading to injury and loss of life, or can cause workers to be routinely exposed, unecessarily, to toxic chemicals over long periods of time, which can have chronic effects on health. This effort will produce a new generation of solid state electrochemical sensors with excellent performance, enabling competition with known, but much higher cost, technologies and potentially creating new applications (due to significant cost advantages). The proposed sensor is based on development of a new kind of fuel cell technology, and represents a significant advance in related devices that are already widely used for gas detection. Using advances in materials and analytical chemistry, Synkera will develop advanced sensors and electronics to operate them in very small, affordable devices which will be ameanable for implementation in distibuted networks for wide range monitoring. This project will develop new, improved, practical and cost effective gas detection devices that can be used in multiple settings for the protection of workers and the general public. It is expected that these devices will greatly reduce the risk of catastrophic accidents and long term exposure to toxic gases created by failures in hazardous materials containment systems.