Liliana Rozemarie Manea

By Igor Cretescu, Doina Lutic and Liliana Rosemarie Manea

This chapter aims a comprehensive presentation of the most common electrochemical sensors used in the real monitoring applications of air purity testing. Oxygen, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are gases, which can be accurately detected and measured. Too high or too low oxygen concentration levels make the air improper for breathing. Hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide are dangerous species; any leakage needs to be pinpointed. A calibrated network of sensors for monitoring gas detection makes it possible to easily locate the source of gas escape during indoor air monitoring. The air quality monitoring stations based on electrochemical sensors are nowadays used to determine the global pollution index of the atmospheric air, in order to prevent the risks toward the human health and damage of environment, especially in the highly populated and industrialized urban areas.

Part of the book: Electrochemical Sensors Technology

By Liliana Rozemarie Manea, Andrei-Petru Bertea, Elena Nechita and Carmen Violeta Popescu

Electrospinning, the most favorable process of obtaining nanofibers, is capable of processing solution or melt polymers, ceramic materials or metals in many morphological variants, thus providing diverse functionalities. The chapter reviews the main ways in which nanofibers’ characteristics can be influenced by solution parameters, process parameters and ambient conditions, afterwards focusing on the role of some of the most significant electrospinning parameters (applied voltage, flow rate, nozzle to collector distance) on the diameter of the nanofibers. Experimental studies to model the influence of process parameters in the case of electrospinning polyetherimide solutions are presented. Response surface methodology and MATLAB simulation software have been used to obtain the mathematical models that indicate the most favorable parameters.

Part of the book: Electrospinning Method Used to Create Functional Nanocomposites Films

By Liliana Rozemarie Manea and Andrei-Petru Bertea

Nanotechnology exerts a significant influence on materials science, providing new insights into the design of functional materials. One of the most studied areas of nanotechnologies is that of nanofibres, characterised by high specific volume, chemical activity and volume-dependent physical processes. The most promising method of producing nanofibres with various morphologies and functionalities from different materials is electrospinning, where high voltage is applied between the spinneret and the collector to the charged polymer solution (or melt) to draw polymer filaments. This chapter reviews the main electrospinning techniques for producing nanofibres from polymers, provides an overview on the influence of the spinning solution characteristics, the process parameters and the working environment on the process and highlights the many applications of electrospun nanofibres in the field of sensors. Latest advances in this field and the prospects for obtaining new electrospun nanofibre sensors are discussed.

Part of the book: Nanostructures in Energy Generation, Transmission and Storage