Synthesis and chemoresistive sensitivity to hydrogen of nanostructured CuO films

Highly porous CuO films up to 1 $\mu$m thick consisting of vertically oriented nanowires $\sim$50 nm in diameter were synthesized by copper evaporation in a vacuum arc discharge in an argon/oxygen atmosphere followed by deposition on heated substrates. The phase composition and polycrystalline nature of the films were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. On the example of gaseous hydrogen H$_2$ at a sensor operating temperature of 300$^\circ$C, sensory characteristics of CuO films were studied. The qualitative mechanism of the effect of gas on the electrical characteristics of the nanostructured CuO film is described.